Trey Pearson shocked many when he came out as gay last month. The lead singer of Everyday Sunday, known for hits like “Wake Up! Wake Up!” and “Best Night of Our Lives,” explained his long struggle with sexual orientation in an open letter. Though he is embracing a new lifestyle and sexual identity, Pearson said he intends to remain friends with his wife and help raise his two children.
Pearson wrote, “I have progressed so much in my faith over these last several years. I think I needed to be able to affirm other gay people before I could ever accept it for myself. Likewise, I couldn’t expect others to accept me how I am until I could come to terms with it first. I know I have a long way to go. But if this honesty with myself about who I am, and who I was made by God to be, doesn’t constitute as the peace that passes all understanding, then I don’t know what does. It is like this weight I have been carrying my whole life has been lifted from me, and I have never felt such freedom.”
While some Christian leaders have supported Pearson’s announcement, others have criticized his decision to embrace homosexuality.
The Family Research Council issued an official statement on its Facebook page, where it wrote, “Our hearts break for him and his family. We pray he remembers Christ’s words: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’ Denial of self is central to the Christian faith. It’s a rejection of our stubborn sinful nature that seeks dominion in our lives. Yet through Christ, we have the victory – but we must deny self.”
