Debbie Thurman

Debbie Thurman is a Christian journalist, award-winning columnist and author of seven nonfiction books between 2000 and 2011. She has written scores of articles and commentaries published in a variety of newspapers and magazines over her 35-year writing career. She has been a church teacher and ministry leader for more than 25 years.

Married for 30 years, Debbie and her husband reside in Central Virginia and have two married daughters. She holds an A.B. degree in English from Sweet Briar College in Virginia and served eight years as a public affairs officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Debbie's ministry mission has been to educate and encourage families battling emotional and spiritual brokenness, whatever form that takes, and to help facilitate the Church's outreach to them. Mostly, Debbie seeks to fulfill the Christ-given "ministry of reconciliation" the Apostle Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5:18 through her writing, speaking, and discipling efforts.

Debbie says that her current book, "Post-Gay? Post-Christian?: Anatomy of a Cultural and Faith Identity Crisis," is a tall undertaking. "It seems God has chosen me to be the bearer of a weighty message that two 'communities' at odds need to hear. At times it has felt as if the forces of both hate and self-righteousness were pitted against me. But God is faithful, and 'He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion ...' (Phil. 1:6)."

A former struggler with gender identity confusion, Debbie longs to see the Church equipped for discipleship to all who wrestle with sexual sin. "We Christians have not always done the best job of explaining what we believe or why we believe it," she says. "We have greatly damaged our witness by winking at many of our own sexual and other sins while hammering the gay community for theirs."