Jesus People Podcast Episode 36
An Insider’s View on Trans Violence: A Call for Understanding, Love, and Grace
Host: Ryan Miller
Guest: Neeza Powers
Date: September 16, 2025
Episode Overview
This deeply personal and timely episode features returning guest Neeza Powers in an unfiltered, tender, and courageous conversation with host Ryan Miller. Against the backdrop of the recent assassination of Christian leader Charlie Kirk—reportedly by a trans-identified individual—Ryan and Neeza confront the profound grief, anger, confusion, and hope circulating among believers and the broader culture.
More than an analysis of events, this episode is a call: for Christians to move beyond knee-jerk anger, to respond to spiritual confusion and violence with the radical love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus, and to thoughtfully pursue lost and hurting people—especially within the LGBTQ and trans communities. Neeza draws from his first-hand experience as a former trans-identifying woman who has recently transitioned to living as a Christian man, offering rare insight into both worlds.
Key Discussion Points
1. Raw Beginnings and Honest Posture
- The episode opens with both host and guest acknowledging the emotional heaviness ("Just a few days after the Charlie Kirk assassination. That's heavy.") and their mutual wrestling with how to talk about grace and justice in this painful moment.
- They confess a prior recording didn’t feel authentic. “Let's just be ourselves... the Lord knows our hearts and we're going to speak from that place of love. No censoring.”
— Neeza Powers, 02:06
2. Neeza’s Transformation & Background
- Neeza briefly recounts living as Nicole, a trans woman, for over a decade before a radical encounter with Jesus 95 days prior, which precipitated a dramatic change of identity and life.
- “I lived as a woman named Nicole since I was 16... My whole life fell apart... I had this radical encounter with Christ in the middle of nowhere in the woods in Vermont... and when I finally decided to lay everything down, to follow him, to give up conscious sin, that he made me aware of... I met you. I met the family of Christ.”
— Neeza Powers, 07:19–09:41
- “I lived as a woman named Nicole since I was 16... My whole life fell apart... I had this radical encounter with Christ in the middle of nowhere in the woods in Vermont... and when I finally decided to lay everything down, to follow him, to give up conscious sin, that he made me aware of... I met you. I met the family of Christ.”
3. On Anger, Violence, and the Posture of Christ
- Ryan processes his anger—at the shooter, but also at right-wing Christian commentators whose responses fall short of Christ’s:
- “There’s this, I feel this righteous anger, but it isn’t even necessarily toward the trans community. It's toward a lot of the conservative Christian... commentators that are like, ‘They're all demons...’ That's not the posture of Jesus. The posture of Jesus is: when you're persecuted, the gospel expands. When you're persecuted, you're blessed in the kingdom of God.”
— Ryan Miller, 02:54
- “There’s this, I feel this righteous anger, but it isn’t even necessarily toward the trans community. It's toward a lot of the conservative Christian... commentators that are like, ‘They're all demons...’ That's not the posture of Jesus. The posture of Jesus is: when you're persecuted, the gospel expands. When you're persecuted, you're blessed in the kingdom of God.”
- The discussion stresses that Christ’s followers are called not to demonize groups, but to extend radical forgiveness—“revival won’t happen without forgiveness”
— Ryan Miller, 18:10
4. On Spiritual Amnesia and the Difficulty of “Speaking for the Community”
- Neeza explains that having encountered Christ, it's “incredibly difficult, if not impossible” to return to his previous mindset, and thus, hard to “speak for the community”:
- "I've been transformed... So looking back or remembering who I was is incredibly difficult, if not impossible... He has made it known that when I look back, those thoughts are not happy, and they're dissolving every day because that's not who I am now."
— Neeza Powers, 04:47
- "I've been transformed... So looking back or remembering who I was is incredibly difficult, if not impossible... He has made it known that when I look back, those thoughts are not happy, and they're dissolving every day because that's not who I am now."
- Neeza likens it to major physical transformation: trying to remember life before you changed—“that's not you anymore.”
5. Conversations on Church, Sin, and the Nature of Real Love
- Discussion about churches that “affirm and welcome” sin versus those that just welcome people as they are—with Ryan and Neeza both expressing the importance of welcoming everyone but not affirming all lifestyles.
- Ryan shares a story (20:58–26:34) of his old church: after raising red flags about the incoming pastor’s theology and wokeness, he was accused of sowing discord and left. The church now champions progressive views and, shockingly, a pastor celebrated Kirk’s death publicly—a moment Ryan calls “fundamentally demonic.”
- "Celebrating the shedding of innocent blood is fundamentally demonic. Only demons celebrate the shedding of innocent blood, full stop."
— Ryan Miller, 25:54
- "Celebrating the shedding of innocent blood is fundamentally demonic. Only demons celebrate the shedding of innocent blood, full stop."
6. Evil, Grief, and Disillusionment from Within
- Neeza’s heartbreak witnessing trans acquaintances celebrate Charlie Kirk’s killing:
- "It hit me... not everybody in those communities is evil. But there is evil in those communities. And they have, very clearly, separated themselves from the wheat.”
— Neeza Powers, 31:22
- "It hit me... not everybody in those communities is evil. But there is evil in those communities. And they have, very clearly, separated themselves from the wheat.”
- The pain: “Best friends... I would have done anything for them, too... and that hurts, man, because I would have done anything for them, too.”
- Both agree that some commentary—calling the left, or people in the trans community, “rats” and “demons”—deeply misses the heart of Christ (34:16–36:32).
7. Understanding the “Enemy’s Playbook”: The Trans Community’s Internal Life
- Neeza explains the “worship of self and desire of the flesh” as the prevailing spiritual orientation within the trans community—using the anecdote of the group dominating a restaurant despite the inconvenience to others.
- “They're blind to the compassion of others. They were there for themselves... compassion is not welcome there.”
— Neeza Powers, 39:35
- “They're blind to the compassion of others. They were there for themselves... compassion is not welcome there.”
- He describes profound love and camaraderie within trans circles; a love “more than (my) family, so I thought,” which later collides with the discovery of evil intent.
8. Violence, Perception, and the ‘Family’
- Neeza provides rare insight: for some trans shooters, violence is a misdirected attempt at sacrificial action for their “new family,” i.e., the community:
- “The most selfless thing happening in the trans community right now are these senseless acts of violence... they're standing up for not just what they believe, but that family that loves them more than they've ever felt so far.” — Neeza Powers, 44:18
- Root cause: "They don't know the love of Him that died for them. They're confused about who they are... and they're missing the love of Christ."
— Neeza Powers, 41:27 - Neeza and Ryan both agree: “the weapons of our warfare are love.”
9. How the Church Should Respond
- The practical call: open church doors and hearts to all; boldly share the gospel; show the transformation Jesus has done in your life. Don’t measure success by immediate transformation but by obedience to love.
- “Call them home, welcome them into your churches, continue to preach the gospel... And allow them to come to the altar at their own time because they're not going to do it the first time.”
— Neeza Powers, 46:37
- “Call them home, welcome them into your churches, continue to preach the gospel... And allow them to come to the altar at their own time because they're not going to do it the first time.”
- Neeza testifies: “If I meet a trans person in my church... I'm going to say, take a look at what happened to me. Look at how happy and joyful I am. This is not from any desire I got out of this world... that's how we rescue them: all love, all gospel-focused discussions.”
— Neeza Powers, 47:41
10. Boldness Without Compromise—“Truth and Love”
- Ryan: “Truth without love is harsh. But love without truth is hollow. We cannot continue... speaking hollow love.”
- The challenge: If we only welcome but never communicate the call to repentance, “you are missing how Jesus encountered sinners.”
- Neeza: “Shouldn’t preachers of the gospel be confrontational... If you’re preaching the gospel and you’re not telling somebody to go and sin no more, are you preaching the gospel?”
— Neeza Powers, 53:56
11. Hardened Hearts, Ready Hearts
- Ryan expands Jesus’ “person of peace” model: “If you continually try to proclaim the gospel to someone that doesn’t want to receive it... that’s not called evangelism. That’s called being annoying and unaffective.”
— Ryan Miller, 54:42–56:59 - Neeza encourages: at Pride parades and in LGBTQ spaces, many are “ready”—thirsty for love, hungry for hope—beyond the loudest protesters.
- “At those parades, there's a thousand lost people. And... we’re only seeing those ten that are hardened.”
— Neeza Powers, 57:49
- “At those parades, there's a thousand lost people. And... we’re only seeing those ten that are hardened.”
12. Kindness That Cuts Through Veils
- Neeza reflects on how persistent love could have broken through his own defenses:
- “If you met me five or ten years ago at a Pride parade, and you came up to me and said, ‘You're loved. You're loved.’ I would say, ‘Get out of here.’... But you would have broken me because I was so hungry for so long... That’s what they need to hear, man. You would have broke me.”
— Neeza Powers, 63:56
- “If you met me five or ten years ago at a Pride parade, and you came up to me and said, ‘You're loved. You're loved.’ I would say, ‘Get out of here.’... But you would have broken me because I was so hungry for so long... That’s what they need to hear, man. You would have broke me.”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On anger and forgiveness:
"Forgiveness is the first step towards revival because you cannot move into the kingdom of God if you do not first forgive... Forgiveness is not saying what they did is fine. It's relinquishing my right to take vengeance against them, and I'm turning them over to the Lord."
— Ryan Miller, 18:16 -
On showing love to the trans community:
“If there's one message from this podcast, it is that boldness and kindness can coexist, that we are called to understand that the way the kingdom of God functions is: it is the kindness of the Lord that leads people to repentance. Now go pray for boldness. Go find persons of peace whose hearts are ready... and then, if they kill us for it, praise God. Because where there's persecution, the gospel advances.”
— Ryan Miller, 58:27 -
A plea to the church:
“Welcome all. Everybody should be able to walk in those doors. But when it comes to affirming conscious sin... I just want the welcoming to exist.”
— Neeza Powers, 20:02 -
On recognizing readiness for the gospel:
“Don't keep talking to that person yelling at you. There's ten more people behind them that need to hear Christ loves you.”
— Neeza Powers, 56:59 -
On personal transformation and hope for others:
“Go to a place where you will be unrecognizable in 95 days. Don’t go to a place that you’re going to be the same person after three months of walking with the Lord… Go to a place where you will die and be born again.”
— Neeza Powers, 52:40
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Neeza’s testimony & transformation: 07:19–10:03
- Ryan’s church leadership story & criticisms of “woke” ideology: 20:58–26:34
- On anger, forgiveness, and ‘hollow love’: 18:03–20:02
- On trans community’s sense of family/violence: 39:35–44:18
- How to reach—without affirming or condemning: 46:37–51:13
- What would have reached Neeza before rebirth: 63:56
Final Reflections & Tone
This episode is marked by vulnerability, humility, and a Holy Spirit–driven resolve to love bravely and truthfully. The tone is direct yet compassionate, often pausing for self-reflection and prayer. The hosts reject both affirming error and lashing out in contempt, instead urging the church to become a “tractoring love” that draws the hurting and lost to Christ.
If You Remember Nothing Else
- Boldness and kindness must coexist; revival begins with forgiveness, not rage.
- You cannot “call out” your way to the heart; you must “call in” with Christ-like love.
- There are many desperate, hungry souls behind the loudest protestor—be willing to sow even where soil looks barren.
- The trans community, like all people, is deeply loved by Jesus and made in His image. The church’s place is to offer welcome, not affirmation of sin, and to trust transformation to the Spirit.
- Love boldly, communicate the truth gently, and be ready for God to do miracles—including in yourself.