--- title: Gay Pastor Michigan: Reverend Resigns After Grindr Photos Go Viral description: Michigan Lutheran pastor Matthew Makela resigned after sending messages on gay dating mobile app Grindr canonical: https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-20T11:41:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:28:37.995Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Michigan Pastor Resigns After Sharing Photos on Gay Dating App og:description: The pastor, who is married with five children, had shared photos on Grindr og:url: https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michigan Pastor Resigns After Sharing Photos on Gay Dating App twitter:description: The pastor, who is married with five children, had shared photos on Grindr twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Michigan Pastor Resigns After Sharing Photos on Gay Dating App ## Video: Why an Orthodox Rabbi Helps Gay Men to Marry Lesbians [Watch (HLS stream): Why an Orthodox Rabbi Helps Gay Men to Marry Lesbians](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qZQEtqkG.m3u8) (5:12)  _Published 2011-08-17. In the West Bank, an Orthodox rabbi has become a unique matchmaker, connecting gay men with lesbian women to marry and create families together_  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 20, 2015 11:41 AM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 20, 2015 11:41 AM CUT A Lutheran pastor in Michigan resigned recently after being caught sending messages on a mobile gay dating app, according to report on the local news site _M Live_. The pastor, Rev. Matthew Makela from Midland, is married with five children and has spoken of being gay as a “sinful temptation.” In posts on the dating and hookup app Grindr, Makela said he was looking to “mess around” with a guy and sent shirtless photos. Screenshots of the conversation with an unidentified user found their way to the gay news site [Queerty](http://www.queerty.com/exclusive-grindr-screenshots-reveal-antigay-pastor-is-a-top-who-likes-to-cuddle-20150518 "undefined"). A [letter](http://www.sjlmidland.org/announcements/pastor-makela-resigns-call-3 "undefined") on the website of St. John’s Lutheran Church, where Makela worked, acknowledged Makela’s resignation and asked members of the congregation not to pay attention to discussions of Makela on social media or on the news. “This changes nothing. Matt is still forgiven and he is still loved, and we will do what we can to stand by him and the family as they face this spiteful attack of shame,” the letter said. “God is bigger than this and will see us through.” \[[_M Live_](http://www.sjlmidland.org/announcements/pastor-makela-resigns-call-3 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/"},"headline":"Michigan Pastor Resigns After Sharing Photos on Gay Dating App","datePublished":"2015-05-20T11:41:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:28:37.995Z","description":"The pastor, who is married with five children, had shared photos on Grindr","url":"https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/","keywords":["faith","LGBT"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/faith/","name":"faith"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/","name":"Michigan Pastor Resigns After Sharing Photos on Gay Dating App"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why an Orthodox Rabbi Helps Gay Men to Marry Lesbians","description":"In the West Bank, an Orthodox rabbi has become a unique matchmaker, connecting gay men with lesbian women to marry and create families together","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qZQEtqkG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2011-08-17T14:40:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qZQEtqkG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/","duration":"PT5M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3890422/grindr-pastor-gay-dating-app/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```