Undivided

Vicky Beeching, who The Guardian calls “arguably the most influential Christian of her generation,” tells the story of her rise to becoming a household name in Christian music until her decision to come out as gay in 2014 at the age of 35, which changed the way she was called to worship God. From a young age, Vicky Beeching loved to write songs and lead worship for her church. When singing, she experienced the fullest expression of herself, what God had uniquely gifted her to do. After college, Beeching landed her dream job-writing and performing her worship songs in front of thousands of people at megachurches and events. She became a household name in Christian music across the US and UK, touring with some of the biggest names in the business. But what no one knew was that locked away inside her lay a secret that she knew would destroy her career and threatened to topple everything she believed in. She was gay. And there was no room in Christian music-or God's plan, she believed-for a gay worship leader.Ten years in, she hit her breaking point. Emotionally ragged, and recently diagnosed with a debilitating autoimmune disease that doctors believed was psychosomatic, she set music aside and enrolled in a theology program at Oxford to seriously study what the Bible and theology really said about homosexuality. She discovered that she was fearfully and wonderfully made as a gay woman, and that she couldn't continue to worship God if she didn't come to terms with who she truly was. In 2014, she came out as gay in an article published in The Independent. As she feared, she was dropped from her music label, blacklisted by the conservative Christian churches and people she had once been close with, and the subject of vitriol and hate. But she also was free for perhaps the first time ever in her life.Now a respected and award-winning writer, commentator, and speaker, Beeching speaks to the topics of religion and LGBT issues, in an effort to bridge the gap and share her vision of an inclusive church for all. Choosing to use her speaking and writing instead of music, she still sees herself as a worship leader, but in a new way, worshipping God for his great faithfulness and love of all members, and leading the way forward to making this a reality across all churches.