Michael Passons' Full Story (Pt 2): Forced Out of Avalon, Out of The Closet & Conversion Therapy

For the first time, Michael Passons tells his full story: the day three Avalon bandmates ambushed him at his house and ended his career, the conversion therapy where his label sent him, and coming out. This is Nashville's podcast, The Patrick Custer Show: the only place on Broadway where shame gets bounced at the door and hope is always on the house. What caused Michael Passons' twenty-year disappearance from music and the public eye? How does a founding member of the Grammy-nominated contemporary Christian music group Avalon end up sent to conversion therapy by his own label? What happened at his house on June 30, 2003 when three bandmates showed up unannounced? And what made him break the NDA when his value and dignity outweighed his silence? We explore coming out, religious trauma, church hurt, deconstruction and reconstruction, and rebuilding faith without absolutes. If you have felt forced to choose between authenticity and community, Michael opens up about agency, reconciliation, and what it means to stop being ashamed. Series finale. Watch the full series:    • The Michael Passons Story: Full Interview ...   Content note: this episode discusses conversion therapy and religious rejection. The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386) offers 24/7 LGBTQ support. THE PATRICK CUSTER SHOW: Instagram:   / thepatrickcustershow   TikTok:   / thepatrickcustershow   Facebook:   / thepatrickcustershoww   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ciCkeb... YouTube:    / @thepatrickcustershow   Website: https://www.thepatrickcustershow.com PATRICK: Instagram:   / thepatrickcuster   TikTok:   / thepatrickcuster   Facebook:   / thepatrickcusterr   Website: https://www.patrickcustermedia.com MICHAEL: Instagram:   / michaelpassons   TikTok:   / themichaelpassons   BOOKING AND PRESS: [email protected] PRESENTED BY: Bright Horse Counseling. One of Nashville's most respected therapy practices. Click: https://www.talktobrighthorse.com Call: 615.637.7000 CHAPTERS: 0:00 Cold Open: June 30, 2003 and the Day Avalon Ended 0:39 Welcome Back to The Patrick Custer Show 1:52 Michael Passons Tells the Truth: I'm Gay 2:33 When He First Knew He Was Different 3:36 Sponsor: Bright Horse Counseling 5:27 Growing Up Gay in Conservative Mississippi 7:44 The Day His Father Asked Him Directly 8:35 The Phone Call That Led to Conversion Therapy 9:37 What Reparative Therapy Actually Was in the 90s 11:15 Mike Malloy, Exodus, and the Reparative Therapy Era 12:34 Two Years of Conversion Therapy and Praying It Away 14:28 The Two Michaels: Living a Double Life 16:33 Reconciling Faith and Hiding Who He Was 18:16 When the House of Cards Started to Fall 19:24 The Anger That Sparked the Catalyst 20:57 The Stranger Who Called Sparrow Records 22:14 The First Meeting With the Label President 23:48 The Industry's Open Secret and Wedding Ring Smokescreens 25:06 Sent Back to Reparative Therapy to Save His Job 26:52 PR Covering His Absence From Avalon 28:26 Returning to Avalon and the 2003 Confrontation 30:42 June 30, 2003: The Day They Showed Up at His House 31:53 Losing Community, Career, Identity in a Flash 34:05 Blacklisted in Nashville's Small Industry 35:34 The Moment He Came Out of the Spiral 37:34 The Bandmate Who Chose the Conservative Narrative 38:19 The Years He Disappeared From Music 40:31 Hitting Rock Bottom and Rebuilding His Belief System 41:45 Deconstructing Decades of Theology 44:18 How the Church Cherry-Picks Scripture to Justify Prejudice 47:34 The Affirming Church and Rebuilding Faith 48:48 Melissa Greene's Parallel Journey and Reconciliation 51:40 Am I Betraying My Family by Believing Differently? 54:26 What He Would Say to Someone Still Hiding Today 56:47 Coming Out Publicly for the First Time in 2020 58:47 The PR Narrative vs The Truth 1:00:42 Breaking the NDA to Reclaim His Story 1:02:41 The New Music and Writing From Authenticity 1:04:00 Destined to Be: The Song His Journey Wrote 1:05:00 The Moment He Stopped Being Ashamed 1:07:38 Faith, Spirituality, and Refusing to Define the Divine 1:10:11 The Fallen Pastor Who Found God Without Absolutes 1:12:11 The Question Nobody Asks Him Anymore 1:13:09 The Political Climate That Cemented His Departure 1:16:50 Hypocrisy and Jesus the Table Flipper 1:18:52 The Gay Man in East Africa Who Changed Him 1:27:13 For the One Who Feels Alone 1:30:11 A Question for the Next Guest: The Voice in Your Head 1:32:02 Closing Thoughts: The Power of the Inner Voice #MichaelPassons #Avalon #ComingOut #ConversionTherapy #ReparativeTherapy #Exvangelical #ChurchHurt #Deconstruction #LGBTQFaith #PatrickCusterShow #NashvillePodcast #BroadwayNashville #CCM