What happens when the church asks Christians to embrace a historic Christian sexual ethic—but fails to build the kind of community that makes that calling sustainable? In this episode of Teaology, Maya Wilson sits down with Pieter Valk, a licensed professional counselor, ministry leader, and founder of EQUIP, for an honest conversation about vocational singleness, sexuality, LGBT+ Christians, celibacy, Christian community, parenting, and belonging. Pieter shares his own experience of navigating faith, sexuality, and church and explains why he believes churches have often elevated marriage and the nuclear family while overlooking the deep need for friendship, intimacy, and belonging among single Christians. Together, Maya and Pieter explore what it means for Christians who hold a traditional or historic Christian sexual ethic to create communities where gay and trans Christians can experience genuine friendship, discipleship, and belonging rather than simply being handed a theological position and left to navigate the implications alone. They discuss vocational singleness and celibacy, the difference between ordinary singleness and intentionally choosing singleness for the sake of Christian service, and why the church needs to rethink how it celebrates and materially supports single people. The conversation also addresses how Christians can respond when someone discloses same-sex attraction, the importance of compassion and friendship, the role of parents in talking with children about bodies, sexuality, and gender, and what it can look like to approach these conversations proactively rather than through fear and avoidance. Maya and Pieter also talk about church hurt, loneliness, Christian belonging, and returning to faith after painful experiences with the church. At the heart of this conversation is a question that goes beyond sexuality: If following Jesus is costly, what kind of community are we willing to become for one another? This episode is a conversation about Christian sexuality, LGBT+ Christians and the church, vocational singleness, celibacy, Christian community, loneliness, marriage and singleness, sexual ethics, discipleship, parenting, and creating churches where people can genuinely belong. Follow Pieter here Find more about his ministry EQUIP here Here is the books Pieter discussed written by his partner for parents: Ready to Talk: A Christian Parent's Guide to Gender & Sexuality Our culture is constantly changing around us. A new story, new song, or new idea is being tweeted, posted or published every other minute. As the world changes rapidly around us, how do we respond? How do we stay rooted in our faith amidst a myriad of conversations? How do we stay grounded in truth when so much in the media is manipulated? How do we talk about our beliefs in a culture that may not feel the same way? Conversations about faith and culture meet right here on Teaology, the podcast. Teaology is all about communities coming together through conversation. We find common ground when we communicate well. Credits Written, Edited and Produced by Maya Wilson Theme Song: On My Vegan by JXXIII, produced by Kahlil Franklin Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved Find Maya's poetry here Purchase Maya's Third Poetry Collection, Before I Was Your Mother For more of Maya's writing, follow her on Substack teaologypod.substack.com Follow the podcast on socials! Instagram: @teaologypodcast Tiktok: @teaologypod 📌Copyright Statement: All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners. I or this channel does not claim any right over them. Disclaimer of Copyright Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, "fair use" is permitted for activities like criticism, commentary, education, and research. The term "fair use" refers to the use that the copyright law permits but might otherwise be illegal. Along with this channel, I make no claims to ownership of any of the graphics, images, or music used in this video. The respective copyright holders reserve all rights.
