Brandan Robertson

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Brandan Robertson (born June 24, 1992) is a gay writer, activist, and minister, best known for his writing and commentary on millennials, social justice, contemplative spirituality, and his work as an LGBTQ activist among Christians. He has also worked as a consultant and lecturer at several seminaries including San Francisco Theological Seminary and Auburn Theological Seminary. Robertson received his Bachelor of Arts in pastoral ministry and theology from Moody Bible Institute, his master's degree in theological studies from Iliff School of Theology, and his master's degree in political science from Eastern Illinois University. Robertson writes regularly for Patheos, HuffPost blog, Progressing Spirit, and Sojourners magazine.

Robertson grew up in Elkridge, Maryland. In 2005, Robertson began attending Grace Bible Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, where he first became active in Christian ministry. In 2008, Robertson began serving as a ministry intern at Bridgeway Community Church, a multicultural evangelical megachurch located in Columbia, Maryland, pastored by international author, speaker, and expert on race relations, Dr. David Anderson.

Robertson has worked with national and international organizations and government entities such as the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Peace Corps, the White House, and groups like Changing Attitudes Ireland to spread a message of inclusion and to work to secure human rights for sexual and gender minorities. From 2017 to 2021, Robertson served as lead pastor of Missiongathering Christian Church in San Diego, California, a progressive, LGBT+ inclusive Christian church in North Park. He is the founder of, Metanoia, a non-profit dedicated to "foster spiritual and social evolution" through advocacy and education.

The Revangelical Movement[]

In 2011, Moody Bible Institute cancelled Robertson's show on Moody Campus Radio due to Robertson's vocal support of civil marriage equality for LGBTQ individuals and the progressive theological leanings of many of his guests. After being brought into a meeting before the Dean of Students to be questioned about his potentially heretical theological and political views, Robertson began writing "The Revangelical Blog", with the mission of "rethinking, reforming, and renewing the Evangelical faith."[1] Over the next few years, Robertson used his blog as a platform for Robertson to speak to a national audience about social, theological, and political issues from a progressive, millennial evangelical perspective.[2]

Destiny Image controversy[]

In 2013, Robertson received a book deal from Destiny Image Publishers to write Nomad: Not So Religious Thoughts On Faith, Doubt, and the Journey In Between, a memoir of his journey from fundamentalism to a progressive evangelical faith. After completing the manuscript in February 2015, Robertson made international headlines when Destiny Image Publishers canceled his contract, citing his support for LGBTQ inclusion as a barrier to being able to effectively sell the book to their evangelical/Pentecostal audience.[3] However, in 2016, Robertson's book was officially signed for release throughout Europe through Darton, Longman, and Todd Publishers. In 2017, Robertson's book Nomad was acquired by Kok Publishing in the Netherlands to be translated into Dutch.

LGBTQ advocacy[]

In September 2014, Robertson was named the national spokesman of "Evangelicals for Marriage Equality", an organization that sought to encourage evangelicals to support civil marriage equality, even if they were unable to support sacramental marriage equality in the church.[4] In August 2014, Robertson also began working full-time as the evangelical program director at Faith In Public Life, a "strategy center for the faith community advancing faith in the public square as a powerful force for justice, compassion and the common good"[5] Through his work at Faith In Public Life and Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, Robertson became a prominent voice in the national debate surrounding religious freedom, LGBT+ rights, and the de-politicization of evangelicalism in America.

In November 2014, Robertson led the effort to convene a historic meeting between Southern Baptist leaders and LGBT+ movement leaders during the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. This meeting opened the doors for conversations and collaboration between some of the most influential religious leaders in America and leading LGBT+ activists. In January 2015, Robertson's work was featured in a Time magazine article, "Inside the Evangelical Fight Over Gay Marriage";[6] and was the subject of an MSNBC mini-documentary film about his work to convince Southern Baptist leaders to support marriage equality.[7] Robertson's story and work have since been featured in a number of national outlets including Time, the Wall Street Journal,[8] Associated Press, the Washington Post,[9] Politico,[10] and Religion News Service,[11] among others. In January 2015, Robertson launched the RISE Network,[12] an organization which seeks to help create productive dialogue among people of faith around issues of LGBTQ acceptance and inclusion in the church, among a number of other major social issues.

Leading up to the Supreme Court's ruling against state legislation barring same-sex couples from marrying in June 2015, Robertson organized a sign-on letter of over 100 evangelical pastors and leaders voicing their support for same-sex marriage both civilly and within the church.[13] This historic statement marked a clear schism among evangelicals on the issue of LGBTQ inclusion and was widely circulated in national media. On June 30, 2015, following the Supreme Court's historic ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states, Robertson delivered a speech entitled "A Witness to Equality" at Washington National Cathedral's service to celebrate equality, alongside well-known transgender activist, Rev. Allyson Dylan Robinson.[14] Robertson has also organized a number of national responses to Kim Davis, the Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses to LGBT+ couples, and partnered with many national organizations to help oppose "religious freedom" bills that seek to protect public businesses from being sued for discrimination against sexual and gender minorities.

In January 2016, Robertson founded Nomad Partnerships, a nonprofit that seeks to equip and empower faith leaders to be fierce advocates of human rights. In August 2016, Robertson spoke at the White House federal summit on bullying on the impact of faith-based bullying on LGBT+ youth. In March 2017, Robertson testified in favor of Colorado House Bill 1210 which sought to ban conversion therapy on minors in the state of Colorado. The bill was killed by Colorado Republicans for the third year in a row. In 2020, Nomad Partnerships was renamed Metanoia.

In June 2017, Robertson joined Faith In America, a non-profit founded by Mitchell Gold, to facilitate conversations with pastors at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Arizona. On the second day of the conference, Robertson along with four other representatives of Faith In America were forcibly removed from the convention and given no reason[citation needed].

In 2019, Robertson became the co-chair of San Diego Pride's Interfaith Coalition "DevOUT" which hosted a series of interfaith events during San Diego Pride 2019 to help engage affirming faith communities in the broader LGBTQ+ community of San Diego.

In December 2020, Robertson gave a keynote speech at the launch of The Global Interfaith Commission on LGBTQ+ Lives at Westminster Abbey in London, an international declaration from senior faith leaders calling for a ban on conversion therapy.

Leaving evangelicalism[]

In March 2016, Robertson wrote an op-ed for Time magazine in which he claimed that he could not "in good conscience, remain aligned with the modern manifestation of the [evangelical] movement."[15] In the summer of 2016, Robertson began identifying as a "contemplative Christian", identifying less with the traditional conservative doctrines of Christianity and more with broader Christ-centered spirituality. Robertson's writing and work now focuses on mindfulness, contemplation, and a "spirituality of wonder", rather than espousing traditional doctrines or dogmas of a particular religious denomination. In 2017, Robertson's non-profit presented an international series of live events called The Future of Spirituality, where Robertson and leading spiritual thinkers such as Rob Bell, Ken Wilber, Krista Tippett, Thomas Moore (spiritual writer), Richard Rohr, and Laurence Freeman discussed the future of religion and spirituality for audiences around the world.

Bibliography[]

  • Contributor, How to Heal Our Divides: A Practical Guide (independently published, 2021)
  • Contributor, The Deconstructionists Playbook (Bemba Press, 2021)
  • El Evangelio de la Inclusión: Las Buenas Noticias de la Inclusión LGBTIQ+ en la Iglesia Cristiana (JuanUno1 Ediciones, 2021)
  • Strength In Faith: A 52- Week Devotional For Men (Rockridge Press, 2020)
  • Nomad: A Spirituality For Traveling Light (Augsburg Books, 2020)
  • The Gospel of Inclusion: The Christian Case for LGBT+ Inclusion (Cascade Books, 2019)
  • Contributor, Rally: Litanies for the Lovers of God and Neighbor (Upper Room Books, 2019)
  • Contributor, A Preachers Guide to the Lectionary Sermon Series (Westminster John Knox, 2019)
  • True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace (Chalice Press, 2018)
  • Editor, Our Witness: The Unheard Stories of LGBT+ Christians, U.S. edition (Cascade Books, 2018)
  • Gay and Christian, No Contradiction (Metanoia Media, 2017)
  • Editor, Our Witness: The Unheard Stories of LGBT+ Christians, U.K. edition (DLT Books, 2017)
  • Zwerven Met God: Ik Ontedekte De Verwondering En Mijn Godsbeeld Kanteldet (Dutch edition of Nomad) (Kok Publishers, 2017)
  • Nomad: A Spirituality for Travelling Light (DLT Books, 2016)
  • Author of forward, The Courage To Be Queer by Jeff Hood (Wipf & Stock, 2015)
  • Contributing author, Kissing In The Chapel, Praying In The Frat House Edited by Adam Copeland (Rowman and Littlefield, 2014)

References[]

  1. ^ Robertson, Brandan. "About Revangelical". Brandan Robertson. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  2. ^ "The Revangelical Blog". Patheos. Patheos Evangelical. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. ^ Dias, Elizabeth. "Young Evangelical Leader Loses Book Deal After Coming Out". Time. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  4. ^ Robertson, Brandan. "The Story Behind Our Launch". Time. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. ^ http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/about/
  6. ^ Dias, Elizabeth. "Inside the Evangelical Fight Over Gay Marriage". Time. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Evangelizing Marriage Equality Among Evangelicals". MSNBC. MSNBC. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  8. ^ Audi, Tamara. "Southern Baptists, Gay Community Break Bread At Conference". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  9. ^ Pulliam Bailey, Sarah. "Why Same-Sex Marriage Is Expected to Heat Up This Election Among Evangelicals". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  10. ^ Lerner, Adam. "Conservatives regroup after gay marriage defeat". Politico. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  11. ^ Merritt, Jonathan. "If the Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage, How Will Evangelicals Respond". Jonathan Merritt. Religion News Service. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  12. ^ "The RISE Network". The RISE Network. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  13. ^ "An Evangelical Response". An Evangelical Response. Brandan Robertson. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  14. ^ Robertson, Brandan. "A Witness to Equality". Revangelical. Patheos. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  15. ^ Robertson, Brandan (March 8, 2016). "Conservative Politics Are Corrupting Evangelicalism". Time.

External links[]

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