Check out this guest piece from Grant Overbeek, a graphic designer and illustrator from northern Michigan. He shares about his journey through the isolating pain of the closet and his senior thesis design project: a Gospel-centered booklet created to address fear, silence, and exclusion around sexuality in the Church and cultivate spaces of safety, honesty, and healing.
Is the closet a safe space? Many LGBT+ teens go into the proverbial closet seeking safety from the outside world, hiding their internal experience from those who might respond with judgment or hate. Honestly, I believe hostile culture is the reason the concept of “the closet” exists in the first place. Even so, I think the closet is just as dangerous as the outside world, if not more so! By coming out, a person can face neglect, ridicule, and abuse, but by staying closeted, isolation and shame eat away at a person’s mental and spiritual health. I believe isolation is one of the devil’s favorite tools, because isolation breeds discontentment, bitterness, addiction, and despair. The closet is one of the most mentally isolating places a person can be in. I know this kind of isolation personally.
In 2021, I went off to art school to study graphic design. During that time in college, I was challenged not just in my skills as a creative, but in my faith and identity as well. There were some tough years where I was in the closet, fighting a tug-a-war between my desires as a same-sex attracted man and what the Lord desired of me. Eventually, I came to a point of surrender to Christ and His good framework for historic Christian sexual ethics. Through that surrender to Christ and coming out to someone I trusted, God began to heal me emotionally and spiritually. Half a year later, I came out publicly about my journey, and God has been healing, sanctifying, and growing me the whole way through. While I give God all the credit for my journey into a deeper relationship with Him, I would not be where I am today without Him using people and spaces where I could safely be vulnerable. It’s vital that Christian communities cultivate spaces where it is safe to be vulnerable because vulnerability opens the door to freedom.
I’ve thought a lot about what I can do as an artist and graphic designer to help fix the isolation so many LGBT+ people face. When it came time to begin my senior thesis in college, I couldn’t stop thinking about my own experience of loneliness in the closet and the persistent homophobia in the Christian church. How could I apply my art and design skills to this problem? What could I design that would positively contribute to the conversation around homophobia, the closet, and the Christian faith? How could I help Christians better love gay/SSA people in and outside of the Church?
As you might guess, I have a huge passion for visual storytelling! I love comics and graphic novels, I love print media and publication design. I wanted to design a booklet–almost like a gospel tract, but for Christians–that could be given to a family member, a friend, a loved one, a church member, or a pastor.
Initially, I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew. The subjects of sexuality, gender, and faith are like massive icebergs in conversation. Many, many books of all kinds have been written on these topics, plus I was supposed to be creating a graphic design thesis, not writing a thesis. Thankfully, I had some helpful consultations with experts on the Equip Team. As I poured myself into research, I realized I needed to condense things down and focus on just one piece of the conversation. I decided to make the booklet a conversation starter. It would be a doorway to a safe space for discussions about sexuality and faith, and the Gospel would be the foundation. The message of this booklet is that understanding the real, true gospel is a non-negotiable in creating safe spaces and loving LGBT+ individuals.
As I designed this booklet, I considered the intended audience. How could I reach them? What would connect with them? A big part of graphic design is effective communication. Because my audience was most likely on the traditional, conservative side, I needed to use colors, imagery, and vocabulary that would attract, not repel, them. I settled on a limited, warm color palette. I gave it a small, personable, hand-made feel, and the title of the booklet doesn’t give away the subject matter but instead sparks curiosity and engagement. The first page opens with Scripture, something hopefully familiar to the audience, and then applies it to the problem, challenging the audience.
Illustration and a story narrative were an important part of this project. Visual storytelling can impact a viewer in ways words can’t on their own. One of the defining pieces of this project was a comic strip I drew of a young boy trapped in the closet with a cloud of hate speech surrounding him. The images are both visually and emotionally heavy.
It was also important to include factual research, showing the impact the closet has on mental health. Statistics were provided from studies on conversion therapy and internalized homophobia. I aimed to strike a balance between emotional and logistical visuals throughout the booklet. As the narrative progresses and the gospel aspect is presented, the colors shift from dark and heavy to bright and hopeful.
The final product is a thirty-six-page booklet titled Opening the Door. It presents the impact of the closet and homophobia on someone’s emotional, mental, and spiritual health, and how the gospel is the foundation for freedom and healing from these wounds.
I hope non-LGBT+ Christians learn from this booklet that creating spaces where it’s not taboo or shameful to talk about sexuality and identity is a good thing. That it’s beneficial to a person’s mental and spiritual health to come out. Let’s stop isolating people. At the very core of it, we all have a heart corrupted by sin that only Christ can mend. Let’s be ready to love and listen in the Holy Spirit through the lens of the gospel. Let’s be the family of Christ, supporting its members and welcoming in new ones, as Christ intended. Let’s make the closet door an open one.
For SSA/LGBT+ individuals, whether you’re a follower of Christ or not, I hope this booklet communicates to you that the true gospel is freeing. That we all have a hole in our heart only Christ can fill. God isn’t waiting for you to flip a straight switch to love you. He isn’t waiting for you to fix yourself up. He already loves you. Whether you’re in the closet or out, He will meet you there. He will comfort you in the hurt. He will sit with you in the loneliness. He is good, and His ways are good. Because He is good and His ways are good, He is trustworthy. So put your trust in Christ.
The Lord has been good to me. I’m thankful for the abilities He has given me and the opportunities He’s given me to have a positive impact on others. Opening the Door was a difficult but rewarding challenge. I don’t know what kind of impact it will have on people, but I hope the Lord uses it. Ultimately, I want to try to glorify God in whatever art or design I create, and I pray that my creations help bring healing to both the Church and LGBT+ individuals. If you’re a creative who loves the Lord, I encourage you to do the same. Be bold and step out in humble faith. Create for His joy and His glory.
Lord, help us to live by Your Spirit. Remind us what You did for us on the cross, and may that change us. May Your Church be humbly surrendered to You. May Your Church be a safe community for people to come out and not face judgement, abuse, or isolation. May Your people be ready to listen and love the LGBT+ individuals who are looking for wholeness. May truth be spoken in Your Spirit. Ultimately, may Your name be glorified, Jesus. Amen.
Simone
This is so amazing! Love to see people share their testimony in unique ways according to their gifting!