Videos by Question

This is the list of planned and approved 20 questions for this project, along with a shortened reference word or phrase.

Please note that all questions were not asked of every interviewee. Context and time allotted for each interview influenced the variety of questions drawn from the list for each interview.

Each page includes a playlist of the question with each pastor answering the assigned questions.  To view the transcripts, load the video and click on the title to be redirected to the video's YouTube page.

1. Please tell your name, credentials, years of service, and brief pastoral history. Introduction

2. What did you consider the risks and rewards of being the first openly gay pastor to serve this church? How did you process those? Risks and Rewards

3. Describe the feelings you had on your first Sunday there. Feelings First Sunday

4. How did you communicate your arrival into the community – the local congregation and the surrounding areas? Communicating Arrival

5. Describe your feelings and cumulative findings at the end of the first six months of your pastorate. First Six Months

6. What surprises did you encounter? Surprises

7. Describe any disappointments you encountered. Disappointments

8. Tell us how your calling is in alignment with your personal identity. Calling and Identity

9. Describe any measures you took to check for intrinsic or obvious feelings of staff and congregants relating to your being an out gay pastor. Checking Feelings

10. If there are staff, describe the sense you got from the staff upon your arrival. Staff Feelings

11 & 12. Describe the first time you perceived that someone might be reacting poorly to your being a gay pastor. Negative Reactions
How did you respond? Describe any church response that came into the situation. Response to Negatives

13. Describe situations of positive reactions. Positive Reactions

14. Describe aspects of being a man that you thought might come into play in the new location. As a Man

15. How did those aspects play out upon your arrival and settling in? Settling in

16. How do you keep a solid identity in the face of homophobia and internalized homophobia? Internalized Homophobia

17. How did you keep a solid identity in the face of homophobia?

18. Tell us what you hope a congregation would do to welcome and respond to an arriving out-gay pastor. Hope for Congregation

19. What advice would you give a gay pastor approaching a new church job? Advice to Pastor

20. What advice for a good beginning would you give a church receiving a newly hired gay pastor for the first time? Advice to Church