Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 4 Guest: David Hayward, The NakedPastor

What do you do when the institution you've given your life to no longer has room for who you're becoming?

David Hayward — known online as The NakedPastor — spent nearly 30 years in ministry before leaving the church in 2010 and stepping into a new kind of calling: using his work as a cartoonist, artist, and writer to challenge religious control and inspire authenticity, equality, and spiritual independence. As an LGBTQ+ ally, feminist, and progressive voice for people deconstructing faith, David has built a community of people reclaiming their own spiritual paths on their own terms.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with David to explore what it looks like to walk away from ministry after three decades — and what it means to find freedom on the other side. It's an honest, searching conversation about deconstruction, creativity, and what happens when you stop performing faith and start living it.

• 🎨 Follow David: @nakedpastor
• 🌐 Visit his website: nakedpastor.com
• 🤝 Explore The Lasting Supper: thelastingsupper.com
• 📲 Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 3 Guest: Rev. Charles Graves, IV

The church has made progress on LGBTQIA+ inclusion — but what happens when the conversation goes deeper than who's welcome at the table?

Rev. Charles Graves, IV is the Fourteenth Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a seventh-generation Episcopalian, and a member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church since 2019. He's also the creator of a denominational task force asking some of the most pressing questions in progressive Christianity today: How does the church understand and respond to household and relationship diversity — including polyamory? And how do we construct a sexual ethics that is both expansive and protective?

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Charles to explore his journey in The Episcopal Church and the LGBTQIA+ inclusion work he's championed along the way. They also dig into the harder, more nuanced conversation about how the church builds new frameworks for sexual ethics — ones that make room for the full complexity of human relationships without abandoning the guardrails that protect and heal.

Thoughtful, prophetic, and ahead of the curve — this is the conversation the church is just beginning to have.

• ⛪ Follow Christ Church Shaker: @christchurchshaker (Instagram)
• 🌐 Visit the church website: cometochristchurch.org
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast (Instagram)
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly (Instagram and TikTok)

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 2

Guest: Rev. Tim Kobler

What do tattoos, beekeeping, and campus ministry have in common? More than you might think — and the Rev. Tim Kobler is here to connect the dots.

Tim is the Director of the Wesley Foundation at the University of Michigan, where he has served since 2018. With 33 years in full-time ministry and 24 years focused specifically on campus ministry, Tim brings a wealth of experience supporting young people as they navigate faith, identity, and community in higher education.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Tim to explore what faith looks like on college campuses today — and the conversation goes places you might not expect. Tim shares about Sacred Ink, his traveling photo exhibition that explores the intersection of spirituality and tattoo art, inviting people to consider how we quite literally wear our sacred stories on our bodies. He also talks about his 26 years as a beekeeper and what tending hives has taught him about life and faith.

This one is wide-ranging, warm, and full of surprises — a perfect listen for a long commute or a quiet afternoon.

📲 Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast

🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

🐝 Follow Tim: @timkobler

🖼️ Explore Sacred Ink: sacredink.art

Season 3, Episode 1 Guest: Karen Hewitt

What happens when a pastor's kid raised in the Pentecostal church begins to ask bigger questions about faith, identity, belonging, and what it means to truly be seen?

Karen Hewitt is a catalyst for connection, belonging, and transformation, centering Black and queer wisdom in their work as a leadership developer, culture builder, community organizer, and multidisciplinary artist. They are the Founder of K Hewitt Consulting and The Culture of You, Co-Founder of The Ohio REST Collective, and an executive leader in the nonprofit space — and as it turns out, a comedian with a passion for performance.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Karen to explore their journey from Pentecostal PK to someone who has expansively explored a range of spiritual practices. The conversation is rich, wide-ranging, and deeply human — touching on the power of storytelling, the wisdom found in unexpected places, and what it looks like to build communities where people genuinely feel safe, valued, and seen.

Bring your whole self to this one. You won't regret it.

You can find Karen on social media at

• Instagram - @thecultureofyou
• Facebook - K Hewitt Consulting
• TikTok - @KarenMarie2121
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@cultureofyou8728

Remember to like, follow, and checkout LOVEboldly and Coming Out Christian:

• Instagram - @comingoutchristian_podcast @loveboldly
• www.loveboldly.org

Coming Out Christian | Season 1, Episode 1 (Re-Release) "A Coincidental Easter"

One year ago, two hosts, a microphone, and a coincidence of calendars launched something none of us knew we needed.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Coming Out Christian, we're re-releasing the episode that started it all. In this inaugural episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp introduce themselves, the podcast, and what they hoped it might become — a space for LGBTQIA+ Christians and allies to share their stories, wrestle with their faith, and find community along the way.

Oh, and it just so happened that when this episode first dropped, Western and Eastern Easter both fell on the same day — and Easter itself landed on April 20. A coincidence? Maybe. A sign? You decide.

Whether you've been with us from the beginning or you're just finding us now, this is a wonderful place to start.

"Queerie of the Day: What is your favorite food that you associate with Easter?"

• 🌐 Learn more about LOVEboldly: loveboldly.org
• 📲 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly (Instagram) | @2loveboldly (Facebook & TikTok)
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌐 Visit Ben's website: benhuelskamp.com
• 📲 Follow Ben: @drbenhuelskamp
• 📲 Follow Siobhan: @rhymeswithlesbian
• 🎵 Music by Shay Nelson: @shaytheserialhobbyist

Season 2, Episode 16 - "My Savage(-ish) Year." For the last two episodes of Season 2, Siobhan and Ben take turns interviewing each other as "special guests." In this episode, Ben discusses his background in the Roman Catholic church and his journey to ministry, ordained and otherwise, in advocacy and pastoral settings.

The LOVEboldly Devotion for 2026 is available now at https://www.loveboldly.net/devotional.

Enjoying "Coming Out Christian?" Remember to make your end-of-the-year gifts to LOVEboldly before December 31. Seeing this in 2026 or beyond? You can still support LOVEboldly by visiting www.loveboldly.net/donate.

Season 2, Episode 16 - "My Savage(-ish) Year." For the last two episodes of Season 2, Siobhan and Ben take turns interviewing each other as "special guests." In this episode, Siobhan discusses her faith, her call to ministry, the anchor points in her life, and some of her beliefs which might surprise you.

The LOVEboldly Devotion for 2026 is available now at https://www.loveboldly.net/devotional.

Enjoying "Coming Out Christian?" Remember to make your end-of-the-year gifts to LOVEboldly before December 31. Seeing this in 2026 or beyond? You can still support LOVEboldly by visiting www.loveboldly.net/donate.

Season 2, Episode 15 - "I'm Affirming Because of the Bible" On this episode, Siobhan and Ben welcome the Rev. Brian Steele, LOVEboldly Board Member, Fellow Program alum, and the Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Farmington (Farmington, MI).

Enjoying "Coming Out Christian?" Then donate to LOVEboldly at www.loveboldly.net/donate.