A few years ago, though, something changed. Kennedy said his sister, who is six years older, had been prodding him to join a Bible study. He was reluctant due to commitment struggles, but eventually the Lord convinced him to join. "I had never studied God's word," Kennedy said. "A lot of my life, I barely even got to church, but I called myself a Christian." Despite living a gay lifestyle, this backdrop of faith and devotion left Kennedy without negative views on faith and with an openness. At times, he had attempted to combine the Christian and gay lifestyles — but it was always a struggle to make that work.

"When I also realized my same sex attraction, I was trying to juggle the two for many years," he said. "And I tried to reconcile the two and to be able to have my faith and also my lifestyle, which is something I knew I couldn't change as far as my attraction to males." Kennedy continued, "So ... that was a big struggle for many years of my life, and ... as I look back now, that's probably a reason why I didn't much go to church or didn't really pursue my faith through those turbulent years." But when his sister invited him to that Bible study in Atlanta three years ago, something changed. The men's group was the first time Kennedy truly studied God's word. Much deeper than the typical Bible verses or devotionals he had previously read, the men's group dove deep into Scripture.

"That is when the same-sex attraction and my faith really started to collide and where I started to realize that I had to make a change," Kennedy said, noting that, though he had abandoned earlier debauchery by that point in his life, he was still living in sin. "I was still living in relationships — physical, sexual relationships, and I realized that had to change, that I could not continue to follow Christ, and have Christ in my heart, and carry on a physical relationship." Kennedy added, "I couldn't change the feelings of same-sex attraction, but I could change how I acted on it, and I realized that celibacy is what God was calling me to do."