MD: So, you’re serving time?
DM: Well, in a way. I’ve forgiven myself a lot, but it doesn’t show in this area. I’m free spiritually, and in the majority of things, naturally. But the social area of relationships is the one area that I continue to struggle.
MD: [to Donnie] Do you regret writing your memoir, Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor.
DM: No. I’m about to add to it. It was a surface book. My mother has passed now. My dad has passed now. There was a lot that I couldn’t put out because they were still alive.
MD: You’re willing to put out more – even with the backlash that followed? You can’t even have an interview without people bringing up ...
DM [finishing Marsha’s statement]: Homosexuality.
MD: And you don’t regret that?
DM: No. No, I don’t. Not at all.
MD: But you don’t answer questions about it anymore.
DM: Most people only ask questions because they want to be antagonistic. If they were really asking because they wanted to know my testimony, I would tell them. But you have to discern people, and what their motive is behind the question. But for the most part, I never regret it. To this day, I’ve got kids coming to me (transvestite children, homosexual youth, and adults) that come to me – just to talk. They would never have come to me before. “John Q. Public” is looking for someone who they can ask: “Oh my God! Can I talk to you about it, because I never wanted to be like this?”
MD: What do Christians need to understand about loving people who are gay?
DM: They need to understand that ministry is ministry, no matter who it is. We can’t compartmentalize ministry. There are 7.2 billion people on this earth, and every one of them needs Jesus. And we should minister the way that Jesus ministered – through love. Jesus dealt with people that the religious community wouldn’t deal with at all. I wrote a song that says, “What if people never change, will you love them just the same? Have we really learned how to love, just love?”
MD [to Andrea]: As a protective sister, does Donnie’s transparency ever worry you?
AM: No, because it’s his truth. We are overcome by the blood of the lamb, and the word of our testimony. If Donnie’s [journey] helps someone who is struggling, we need someone out there sharing it. We need someone who speaks up. We all have the residue of our past. But, with the help of the Lord, we’re able to overcome it. For me, I’m still insecure, I’m still afraid, and my self- esteem is still pretty shot. But before I go out on stage – before I speak a word – before I encourage someone else, the Lord gives me the strength to get past every negative thing that’s in me. We’re all broken in our own different way, and none of us can heal if we pretend ... if we’re not honest. 
