Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Nietzel.
Hi Brian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve known two things about myself for about as long as I can remember: Jesus is my hero. And I’m gay.
For much of my life, my faith and sexuality were divided. But being torn between the two was not sustainable. Through a season of new conversations with God, I came out knowing my peace as a gay Christian man—undivided, finally. On the other side, I’ve found a deeper faith and new conviction to heal wounds and restore faith within the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2019, I co-founded Renovus (renovus.org), an ATL-based organization that helps LGBTQ+ individuals reclaim their faith and rediscover Jesus. Apart from the hundreds of LGBTQ+ folks we serve through our events and weekly home groups, an inspiring byproduct has been the friends, families, and churches eagerly wanting to be a part of the restoration.
In 2021, I launched the “Making Things Right” project (makingthingsright.org) which invites Christians to elevate this divisive conversation to something more productive: healing hurts and righting wrongs with the LGBTQ+ community. The Marin Foundation released a landmark study in 2016 that articulates it well.:
86% of the LGBTQ+ community was raised in the church
54% left at the age of 18, #1 reason = negative personal experiences
76% of those are open to returning to their faith
We have a wonderful opportunity and responsibility to help make things right!
The MTR project is off to great start, with 1,200 new IG followers and 10,000 downloads of the MTR Podcast which was featured by Christianity Today in Feb 2022, and a good sign that traditional Christian folks are open to a more productive dialogue. Thanks to a wonderful team around me handling the marketing and operations, I can spend most of my time writing new content, connecting with people, coaching leaders/influencers, and speaking at events. I plan to write a book in 2023 to expound on my original theses around “making things right” and incorporate my many interactions and learnings from Year 1 of the project.
I live in Sandy Spring with my husband, Dan, my two stepdaughters, and our puppy Kila.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Interestingly, it has been much smoother than I anticipated since our Nov 2021 launch. Most all folks resonate with helping hurting folks as that’s a natural instinct, and most are quite tired of the rhetoric around this subject, so “making things right” is refreshing.
And strangely, my critics have been silent. I mean, I know they are out there! Still, I anticipate as we grow that, we’ll have our share of critics, both from the Christian church community and the LGBTQ+ community. I welcome that, as I understand and respect their hesitations.
I will never win over people in the extremes who have their minds fully made up and will defend their positions at all costs. But that’s OK because I believe those folks represent the minority. Most of us are somewhere in the middle on matters of faith and sexuality, likely know/love people that are LGBTQ+, and are open to figuring out what it means to love and serve folks who’ve been hurt.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Making Things Right is a passion project! I have a day job as an executive coach in the Financial Services world. But interestingly, the work is the same. In both endeavors, I help folks determine where they want to go, what is in the way of that, and making plans to overcome the obstacles.
With MTR work, I am an author, podcaster and speaker, aspiring to be a key thought-leader/influencer at the intersection of faith and sexuality.
Writing is a wonderful necessary evil! I say that somewhat jokingly and because it’s hard. I much prefer connecting with people. And yet, carving sacred time/space to write and formulate points of view and invitations to people is the foundation of everything I do. So I have enjoyed settling into that part of my work.
Yet the FUN part is engagement. The MTR Podcast mini-series (7 episodes) was a wonderful project, as I got to unpack my writings with leaders and influencers in conversation, story, and collaborative solutions. We’re at 10,000 downloads! We will launch more MTR Podcast episodes in 2023.
We launched MTR Connect last month, which is a monthly zoom meet-up for parents, pastors, LGBTQ+ folks, etc. to bring their questions into a “safer space”. Think of it as small group peer coaching where we all listen, learn, build empathy, and help each other find their next steps. It was epic last month, and I will continue these as long as they serve.
I especially love to present and speak. I grew up on stage, so no surprise. But genuinely, I love inspiring folks in large group settings. Last week I spoke at an event at a big church in town where 200 parents of LGBTQ+ attended as well as church staff. I focused on helping parents and church leaders discover their role and next step in being a part of broader healing/reconciliation, whether that step is with their kid, their family, or their congregation. I was overwhelmed by the response and the clear desire of this church to help be a part of the solution.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Wow, THE most important. What a great question.
It would have to be this: Empathy is everything.
Knowing other people’s stories informs our perspectives and paradigms. It gets us out of our bubbles (we all have them, some are wider than others) into the shoes of our neighbors. It exposes and redirects our unknown biases and stereotypes. Empathy is the first step to real progress, to any healing and positive change that is sustainable.
So when I connect with pastors, parents or anyone willing to help “make things right” with the LGBTQ+ community, my advice is invariably the same: Get to know their stories first-hand. Listen. Build empathy. And see what happens.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://makingthingsright.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briannietzel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakingThingsRightBrian
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianNietzel
- Other: http://makingthingsright.org/connect
