When Faith Is Tested by the Unexpected
When a child announces they’re transgender, it can feel like a tsunami crashing into what once felt like solid ground. In this episode of Honest Christian Conversations, I sit down with Debra McNinch, a devoted Christian mother who uses that very metaphor to describe the moment her adult son shared his transgender identity with her.
Debra and I speak candidly about the shock of receiving news we never expected from children we raised in faith—and how those moments test the very foundation of what we believe. We explore the tension many Christian parents feel: holding firmly to biblical truth while continuing to love their children deeply and relationally. Debra’s honesty captures this struggle with clarity, compassion, and conviction.
This conversation also highlights the silence many families encounter within the church when navigating LGBTQ issues and prodigal seasons. Debra shares how that silence led her to found Battle Cry, a global support community for parents walking through similar journeys. Together, we discuss surrendering control to God, maintaining healthy boundaries, and trusting His timing—while continuing to pray, love, and stand firm in faith.
🎧 Listen to the episode to hear a hope-filled, truth-centered conversation that speaks directly to parents and churches navigating some of today’s most difficult questions.
💬 After listening, join the conversation in the community.
This is a space for honest reflection, prayerful discussion, and support for families walking through complex and painful seasons—without judgment and without compromise.
Wife. Mother of five. Podcaster. Fiction Novelist
Ana is the host of the Honest Christian Conversations podcast and a prodigal saved by God’s unending grace.
She grew up in a legalistic Christian home where asking questions often felt wrong. In her early twenties, overwhelmed by confusion and hurt, she walked away from her faith. Yet even then, God’s love never stopped pursuing her. At thirty years old—and after a painful second divorce—He brought her back to himself, and she has never looked back.
As Ana returned to Christ, she began rebuilding her faith from the ground up and asked the questions she once feared to ask. Along that journey, she discovered inconsistencies, misplaced teachings, and even lies woven into the Christianity she grew up with. Instead of destroying her faith, this only deepened it. Out of that discovery, she founded Honest Christian Conversations. Ana's heart is to help others navigate the same tension she once lived with: wanting to know the real Jesus while sorting through the noise of deceptive teachings, spiritual manipulation, and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
Everything she creates flows from gratitude for the God who rescued her, restored her, and continues to shape her into who He intended her to be.
5.00 (41 Reviews)
