Daren Mehl Testimony

Daren Mehl shares his testimony of being transformed by Jesus. Having lived as a “Gay Christian”, yet being convicted by the Holy Spirit but no way out, God provided the help in the form of a Christian Brother who helped Daren gain faith in his heterosexual potential as God created him. Even after marrying a woman he met through a guy he used to date, Daren was addicted to porn and for years tried to pray the gay away but couldn’t stop acting out with porn. At the end of his rope, Daren discovered he was operating in self righteousness rather than in the righteousness and grace of God through Jesus Christ. After a radical experience of repentance and then guidance to truth by the Holy Spirit, Daren experienced freedom from sinful desires toward the same sex. Today Daren has been married 16 years and has two children. His message of the power of Jesus to transform a person’s heart and mind will encourage you that change is possible from any sinful addiction or false identity.

Johnny Max: My Testimony

I grew up in a nominal Christian home, where if I was good I would go to heaven; if I was bad…hell. My great grandpa was a revival circuit rider with the shouting Methodists, so there was a godly heritage that had marked me; but I struggled with the connection because I didn’t really know Jesus. Amongst a lot of abandonment (because of my parents drug abuse) & abuse that surrounded me, Jesus began His call on my heart. 

In the second grade, I went to bible camp, where a pastor shared Jesus’ plan of salvation with us. It didn’t make sense because of my paradigm of God; but Jesus would soon change that. Hanging in my room was a picture of Jesus knocking on the door. Every night I would go to sleep, my heart felt Jesus walk out of the picture & stand next to my bed–He would say He was knocking on the door of my heart. I always had my excuse why I wasn’t ready…I didn’t feel I was worth it. I continued to run for 6 more years…Jesus kept faithfully pursuing my heart. I ran to new age philosophy to fill the emptiness of my wounded heart, until a friend invited me to his church. The presence I felt there was so familiar–He had been waiting at the altar of that church for 6 years! Never once did He let His arms down, He never turned His face from me. I surrendered my heart completely to Him & immediately fell in love with Jesus. 

My heart has found any & everything that I could ever dream of! I am completely satisfied with Jesus & have found so much healing. My heart has been set free to sing right to Him–He always loves to hear my voice. I am fully convinced of His love & the reason for my joy is the strength of His heart of joy! 

Introducing Wendi

I came to know Jesus as my Savior when I was 8 years old. I did not learn how to submit to His leadership and learn to trust Him as a loving Father until I was 57 years old. 

Daren Mehl on Changed Movement

“I pursued spiritual counseling. Through the help of powerful books and resources I found my true identity… and then my behavior and sexual attractions changed. ”
— DAREN MEHL

Daren Mehl

In my early twenties, I attempted to live as a celibate gay, but that all changed the night I was raped at a party. The trauma threw me into a spiral of same-sex encounters. To avoid HIV, I moved in with my boyfriend and settled into a monogamous relationship. For nearly a decade, although I looked happy on the outside, I lived in constant inner turmoil and stress because I knew my homosexual behavior wasn’t who I was. I did my best to ignore my inner voice, but doing so came at a high cost to my personal peace and conscience.

All that began to change the night I was invited to a prayer service and told a friend about my inner battle. Deep down I knew I hadn’t been created gay but couldn’t reconcile why I had same-sex attraction. My friend prayed for me, and for the first time in my life, I saw clearly that my issue was sexual addiction, not sexual orientation. That night, my hope was restored in my long-lost dream to marry a woman and have a family. Right then and there, I asked God to end my same-sex relationship because I knew I couldn’t do it myself, and I asked Him to arrange it so I could marry a particular woman. When I got home that night, my boyfriend abruptly ended our relationship, and soon I was dating and eventually married the exact woman I had prayed for.

While this set me on a course towards personal peace and fulfillment, even as a happily married man, I could not break my secret addiction to gay porn. Despite my best efforts, I cheated on my wife with another man. In an instant, instead of feeling fulfilled and satisfied, I felt dead. I thought I’d lost it all—my wife, my unborn son, my best friends—but by a miracle of mercy and love, my wife took me back.

Desperate for help to get free from gay porn, I pursued spiritual counseling. Over the next year, through the help of many powerful books and resources, weekly prayer and support from a faithful friend, and my wife’s unconditional love, I found my true identity. For the first time in my life, I began to see the false beliefs I had about myself, men, women and my sexuality, and my sexual orientation changed. God healed my mind and my heart, and then my behavior and sexual attractions changed. I now see other men as potential friends, not sexual partners.

The journey wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. Today I am a whole person living authentically to who I am. My sexuality and behaviors are in line with my original design. For the last 12 years, I’ve been married to my beautiful wife, my gay porn addiction is gone, and now my sexual energy is directed toward her. I’m the happy, fulfilled father of a beautiful four-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.

Originally Appearing on ChangedMovement.com

 

Reverend Daren Speaks at School Board Meeting Upholding The Biblical Dignity of Children

Originally appearing in Tennessee Star

Associate Director Reverend Daren Mehl spoke at his local school district upholding the dignity of the children in light of the ‘transgender’ policy the school would pass. Daren spoke of the fact God has made them male and female, and it is harmful to tell kids they might be the other sex. Daren mentioned that the children are not spirits separate of their bodies such that they might have the wrong body and need to be treated differently. They were created by God intentionally as male or female and manipulating children with the transgender religious beliefs is confusing and harmful to them.

Daren Mehl, a father of two Osseo students and a former member of the LGBTQ community, explained in an interview with The Sun why he spoke out against the policy at the school board meeting.

“My motivation was to share my heart for children, which as a Christian, I believe is God’s heart for children, which is that God created us male and female,” Mehl said. “And to know that you were created with value. Instead of valuing the children for who they are, the policy will be teaching children that boys can be girls and girls can be boys.”

Mehl is the president of Voice of the Voiceless, an organization that works to help those who struggle with same-sex attraction. According to the Voice of the Voiceless website, they exist to “defend the rights of former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction, and their families.”

Mehl said that, as someone who formerly belonged to the LBGTQ community, the mentality behind the policy can actually create depression and suicidal thoughts.

He said, “How horrible is it to think that your body is your enemy.” He also took issue with a specific statement within the policy, requiring the school to designate a “safe staff member.” Mehl said that the statement implies that all of the staff are not safe. While some board and audience members took issue with Mehl’s public comments regarding religion, he responded, “The definitions of the policy are, in a way, religious doctrines, just godless ones.”