But since Johnson went public with his orientation in Christianity Today, pastors in his denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, have tried to banish clergy who identify as gay, even if they commit to celibacy.  Johnson has fought that. He says orientation is largely fixed — but believes there is still a place for people like him in conservative churches.

Greg Johnson describes himself as a “gay atheist teenager” who fell for Jesus — and found himself at the center of evangelical Christianity’s internal battles over sexuality.

For nearly 20 years, Johnson has pastored Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, right across from Forest Park. He says he’s been gay and celibate the entire time. When he came out to his church, he said he received a standing ovation and shouts of “We love you, Greg” from congregants.

But since Johnson went public with his orientation in Christianity Today, pastors in his denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, have tried to banish clergy who identify as gay, even if they commit to celibacy.

Johnson has fought that. He says orientation is largely fixed — but believes there is still a place for people like him in conservative churches.

“I spent a lot of years convincing myself that I was a straight man with a disease called homosexuality that could be cured,” Johnson said on Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air. “And, perhaps up to a million of us did that.”

The million Johnson is referring to are people who participated in the so-called “ex-gay movement,” which centered on the theory that one can change sexual orientation. The organization leading the charge, Exodus International, shuttered in 2013 after decades of fruitless attempts. Johnson said those efforts did more harm than good.

“I really believe that Jesus loves gay people, and I want evangelical churches to learn to say that and believe that,” he said.

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