Crossing the Divide
This year’s MTR Connect theme is As Yourself, because loving our neighbor changes everything.
Join us as Pastor Matt Tinken shares the story of how First Free Church in Chicago has moved toward a more inclusive posture, and the part a diverse, unified panel of LGBTQ+ voices played in that journey. Brian Nietzel and Bridget Eileen Rivera, two of the panelists who sat down with First Free’s congregation, join Matt to reflect on that conversation and what it can teach the rest of us about crossing the divide.
Pastor Matt Tinken
Matt is the Lead Pastor of First Free Church in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, a congregation that’s been in Chicago since 1880 and has called Andersonville home since 1925. Under Matt’s leadership, First Free has walked through a guided, congregation-wide process of listening, study, and dialogue around LGBTQ+ inclusion – culminating in a panel discussion that brought LGBTQ+ voices directly into the conversation.Â
Bridget Eileen Rivera
Bridget is a sociologist whose work has shaped national conversations on LGBTQ+ experiences in Christian communities. She’s the author of Heavy Burdens: Seven Ways LGBTQ Christians Experience Harm in the Church (Brazos Press, 2021), a Foreword INDIES Finalist in religion, and she’s currently completing her PhD in sociology at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Bridget blends rigorous scholarship with public engagement, helping churches across the theological spectrum better understand and respond to the experiences of their LGBTQ+ members.
Brian Nietzel
Brian is the founder of Making Things Right. As a gay man who has remained committed to his Christian faith, Brian has spent two decades helping LGBTQ+ individuals, parents, and church leaders pivot from theological debates to more productive, practical engagement around LGBTQ+ matters. His podcast was featured by Christianity Today and has over 25,000 downloads, and his work has appeared in The Dallas Morning News and Baptist News Global.
Registration Form 9/17/26
Explore the “As Yourself” Season:
