RELIGION NEWS SERVICE/ Kathryn Post-
On Friday (July 17), Christian author Matthew Paul Turner came out as gay via Facebook and Instagram and announced that he and his wife, fellow writer Jessica Turner, are divorcing.
Matthew Paul Turner is the former editor of CCM, a magazine covering contemporary Christian music, but he is best known for his rhyming children’s books published through Convergent, an imprint of Penguin Random House. His 2019 book “When I Pray for You” is a Today, Publisher’s Weekly and Wall Street Journal bestseller with more than 100,000 copies in print.
“(A)s someone who spent 30+ years in fundamentalist/evangelical churches, exploring God through conservative theologies, I’ve lived many days overwhelmed by fear, shame, and self-hatred,” Turner wrote in a Facebook post. “But for the first time in my life, despite the sadness and grief I’m feeling right now, I can say with confidence that I’m ready to embrace freedom, hope, and God as a gay man.”
Jessica Turner also shared a Facebook post this morning. “We are moving forward with ending our marriage, while remaining deeply committed to our family and each other,” she wrote. “We are all adjusting to a new normal, with our home now extended under two rooftops.”
The two were married in 2004 after meeting online and quickly bonding over their interest and involvement in CCM. Continue reading…
