Michael Glatze was a prominent gay-rights activist until he had an encounter with God that changed his life.
He rejected his homosexual lifestyle, married a Christian woman and became a minister, and now his life is the subject of a newly released full-length film called I Am Michael.
James Franco, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto and Darryl Hannah are some of the A-list Hollywood actors in the film, which debuted at the Sundance festival in 2015 but was released for distribution three weeks ago.
“I hope I can share my story,” Glatze said in a column first published on WND. “I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason. Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things—when I felt like, ‘Why am I here, what am I doing?’—there was always a voice there.”
The movie depicts Glatze’s spiritual journey as he searches for God.
Glatze said it all began with inner “promptings” that were leading him in a different direction despite the life he was living. At the time, Glatze was a prominent activist and the founding editor of Young Gay America magazine.
He started his journey at a Mormon church and a Buddhist retreat center but soon ended up at a small Bible college in rural Wyoming.
There he met the woman who would later become his wife, Rebekah. Now, they pastor a church in that area.
In 2007, Glatze “came out” to the public. In an exclusive story, he told WND that “‘coming out’ from under the influence of the homosexual mindset was the most liberating, beautiful and astonishing thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.”
Franco plays Glatze in the film, and the film’s director, Justin Kelly, tells the story through the lens of a man who is a fierce defender of gay rights and ultimately becomes a minister.
Although a large part of the film focuses on Glatze’s life before Christ, Christian viewers may relate to the moments when his heart is changed.
Glatze has received huge criticism from the gay community, but he said he refuses to stay silent.
“I am here to live a good, God-honoring life,” he said. “And, as a Christian, I would be a liar if I didn’t tell people who God is, what He has done in my life and how He continues to provide for me in ways that are more numerous than I can count.” {eoa}
Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.
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