A popular megachurch pastor is surprising many traditional Christians with his support for same-sex marriage.

In 1999, at just 28, Rob Bell founded Michigan’s Mars Hill Bible ChurchÂ â€“ not to be confused with the embattledÂ and now-closed Mars Hill Church based in Seattle. In 2011, TIME named him one of theÂ 100 most influential people in the world.Â Bell left his church three years ago.Â

In his latest book,Â The Zimzum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage, Bell and his wife Kristen talk about marriage, including same-sex marriage. They write that “marriage â€“Â gay and straight â€“Â is a gift to the world.”

In yesterday’s episode ofÂ Oprah Winfrey’s “Super Soul Sunday,” the couple, together for 20 years, say that the Christian church is close to supporting same-sex marriage.

“One of the oldest aches in the bones of humanity is loneliness,” Pastor Bell tells Oprah. “Loneliness is not good for the world. Whoever you are, gay or straight, it is totally normal, natural and healthy to want someone to go through life with. It’s central to our humanity. We want someone to go on the journey with.”

“When is the church going to get that?,” Oprah asks.

“We think it’s inevitable and we’re moments away,” Bell responds. “I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense, when you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and co-workers and neighbors and they love each other and just want to go through life with someone.”

“There are churches,” Kristen Bell adds, “who are moving forward and there are churches who are almost regressing and making it more of a battle.” She says there are “a lot” of pastors whose response to the culture moving forward is to “dig in deeper.”

The portion about same-sex marriage begins in the above video at about the 29:15 mark.

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Image: Screenshot via Oprah

Hat tip: MLive