Scandalous, Episode 4: Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray

Coming Out Christian's mini-season "Scandalous" continues as Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp welcome back Rev. Melinda Garza Moran to discuss a barrier-breaking figure whose story deserves far wider recognition: the Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray.

A lawyer, activist, poet, and priest, Murray graduated first in her class from Howard Law School, co-founded the National Organization for Women, and helped shape the legal arguments behind landmark civil rights and gender equality cases, work that influenced both Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At age 63, after decades of pioneering work in law and academia, Murray entered seminary and went on to become the first African American woman ordained as an Episcopal priest.

Melinda shares what drew her to Murray's story after watching a documentary on her life, and the group digs into what it meant for Murray to keep "causing good trouble" well into her seventies, the quiet strength of the aunt who raised her without judgment, and how Murray's justice work continued into the life of the church itself. The conversation also touches on the ongoing scholarly debate about which pronouns best honor Murray's gender-expansive identity (in these notes, we've followed the episode's lead in using she/her).

Learn more about Rev. Melinda Garza Moran and her ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kenwood, Ohio, at www.goodshepherd.com. You can also follow Rev. Melinda on social media @heysaints26 (Instagram, Threads, and Facebook).

Follow along at @comingoutchristian_podcast and @loveboldly, and find more at www.loveboldly.org.

Coming Out Christian's mini-season "Scandalous" continues as Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp welcome back Bishop Tim Wolfe, who is transitioning from his role as Midwest Regional Bishop into a new role as a Senior Bishop, to talk about a legendary figure from his own faith formation: Reverend Clarence H. Cobbs.

Known simply as "Preacher," Cobbs founded Chicago's First Church of Deliverance in 1929 at just 21 years old, building it into a spiritual and cultural landmark of Bronzeville with a pioneering radio broadcast, a 200-voice choir, and a congregation that grew to more than 10,000 members. Though rumors about his sexual orientation swirled for decades, even prompting a 1939 newspaper investigation, Cobbs never confirmed or denied the speculation, choosing instead to be known simply as a follower of Jesus.

Bishop Wolfe, who knew Rev. Cobbs personally as a young man finding his spiritual home at First Church, shares vivid, moving reflections on Preacher's radical hospitality, his unbothered response to gossip and scandal, and his gift for reading the Gospels "at face value." The conversation explores what it means to build a church rooted in genuine sanctification rather than respectability politics, and why refusing to let others' opinions dictate your calling is its own kind of holy defiance.

Learn more about First Church of Deliverance at fcdchicago.org, and about the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries at wearetfam.org. Follow Bishop Wolfe on Instagram @tgwolfe91159.

Follow along at @comingoutchristian_podcast and @loveboldly, and find more at www.loveboldly.org.

Scandalous, Episode 2: Bayard Rustin

Coming Out Christian's mini-season "Scandalous" continues as Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp welcome back the Rev. Dr. Mashaun D. Simon to discuss a holy tantrum thrower whose legacy has too often been pushed into the shadows: Bayard Rustin.

Born in 1912 to teenage parents and raised by his grandparents, Rustin was shaped by his grandmother Julia's Quaker faith, a faith he lived out for the rest of his life, from his training as a conscientious objector to his practice of nonviolence even while imprisoned. That same faith carried him into the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, where, largely uncredited, he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and orchestrated the 1963 March on Washington.

Mashaun and the hosts explore how Rustin's identity as an openly gay Black man shaped both his activism and his place in history, the radical grace of his grandmother's love, and what it means to be a faith leader outside the traditional pulpit. The episode includes a candid historical assessment of Rustin, though it ultimately lands on the power of his activism and the depth of his faith.

Learn more about Rev. Dr. Mashaun D. Simon at mashaundsimon.com, and find his book, Faith Deconstruction for Dummies, at Bookshop.org. To hear Bayard Rustin tell his own story in his own words, visit the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice's Queer History Archive at rustincenter.org/brcsjqueerhistory.

Follow along at @comingoutchristian_podcast and @loveboldly, and find more at www.loveboldly.org.