WATCH: 'Homophobic Christian' Poses as Gay, Writes Book About It

Thomas Roberts, Timothy Kurek

Once a self-described homophobic Christian, Timothy Kurek says his year posing as a gay man taught him empathy and acceptance — and now he’s written a book about it.

Kurek spoke to MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts Thursday about his experiment, which began in 2009 after a woman friend told him about being disowned by her family after she came out as a lesbian. “Two words changed it all,” he told Roberts. “Two simple words. ‘I’m gay.’”

Kurek says he spent a year hanging out in gay bars and other venues in Nashville’s gay neighborhood. He also told his family he was gay, and they were supportive but struggled with their religious beliefs on the subject.

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He admits he can’t really know what it’s like to be gay, but he wants to let LGBT people know he’s now on their side, he told Roberts. The book is his way of saying, “I don’t understand every detail of your life and your journey, but I would like to walk beside you in it from now on,” he said.

He is running a fund-raising campaign for his as yet untitled book, to be self-published in October, at IndieGoGo.com.