Hi, thank you for your interest in my blog! Please take a few moments to read the previous parts of this blog series, this is not a standalone blog post. Thank you and I hope you learn something!
Part 1
Part 2
You find yourself at church on a Sunday morning and find yourself sitting next to this young man who looks to be in his late 20s. During your church's greeting time, you introduce yourself to him and ask if he's new because you haven't seen him before. He says that his name is Kyle and he just moved to the area due to a job transfer. Eventually, the two of you become Facebook friends and you see on your newsfeed one day a picture that a girl tags him in a picture of a group of girls, the one on the end looks a lot like him. Intrigued, you investigate further and one of the comments give it away that that is in fact him. How do you respond?
Dr. Mark Yarhouse, Christian psychologist regarding as the leading Christian researcher on gender dysphoria says that everyone's view will fall into one of three lenses, the "Integrity" lens, "Disability" lens, and and the "Diversity" lens. The first of these, the Integrity lens, views sex and gender, and therefore gender identity, as the sacred distinctness of of maleness and femaleness reflected both on one's body and mind. Therefore, any kind of cross-gender identification such as being transgender, transsexual, or possibly even having gender dysphoria threatens to dishonor the sacred distinction and Creational order between male and female, denies the integrity of one's own sex, and mars the divine images of distinct maleness and femaleness. The second of these is the "Disability" lens, this views gender dysphoria as the result of living in a fallen-world, but not a direct moral choice. If the "Brain Theory" or any other theory is to be believed, it's just another human experience of the way that thing's aren't supposed to be. It is the same as anyone with anxiety disorders, depression, or anything else where we do not discuss their struggle as a moral problem, but a psychological one. Therefore, we should care and treat someone with gender dysphoria with the same care and concern as someone with another condition, and they likely see value in both what scripture says about the sacredness of male and female and what the research, intervention and treatment of dysphoria. The last of these views is the "Diversity" lens, this views sees transgender individuals as something to be celebrated, just another expression of the different ways to be human. Therefore, it is not something that should be shunned, and treatment is not seen as much as treating the problem but more the person expressing themselves.
I'm not going to say which of these is right and which one of these is wrong, that's partially because I personally see value in all three of them. I see the first representing genuine concern for the differences between male and female, and the ways that each have their own unique purposes in the Kingdom of God that the other sex simply cannot do. I see the second having value in psychotherapy and pastoral care, it helps us gain empathy and have compassion for the individuals facing these issues. The last one, I think is best at giving the person a sense of community, a place to belong, an affirm their experiences.
The question "Where do I belong?" is a very important question because every human has a deep psychological need for community. This question is ultimately what the question and drives and tears the heart of not only Christian transgender individuals, but any Christian with an LGBT identity. What the transgender community has done an excellent job at doing is providing that place and being attractive because it answers the question "Where do I belong?". The Church, while most churches want to be a community where all people feel like they belong since we're all broken and in need of grace, it is failing Christians who have gender dysphoria, and those with gender dysphoria who are not Christian. For example, in Dr. Yarhouse's study regarding Christians with gender dysphoria, one participant said when asked about what they would like out of the Church "Someone to cry with me rather than just denounce me. Hey, it is scary to see God not rescue someone from cancer or schizophrenia or [gender dysphoria]...but learn to allow your compassion to overcome your fear and repulsion.
When it comes to responding to transgender individuals, too often to Churches and Christians immediately jump to the integrity lens, and urge that individuals with gender dysphoria can be healed by learning to act and live in according with their birth sex. If the dysphoria does not go away, then that is just their "thorn in the flesh". The problem with this isn't that it's wrong, it's that it completely ultimately completely ignores the dysphoria, which in my last blog post was described by those who experience it. That's not called ministering, witness, pastoral care, whatever you want to call. That is simply just reacting and being dismissive of the person and their experiences.
What is ultimately the Christian message, the gospel, all about? Redemption and restoration. We, as Christians are redeemed by the blood of Christ in his sacrificial death on the cross, and are called to redeem others and partner with Christ in the restoration of all things. Measuring how well a person's psychological gender aligns with their physical sex is not redemptive or restorational, showing them to Christ by showing them who Jesus was in order to transform us into His image, is. It is tempting when speaking about these things to join into the cultures wars about sex and gender, but that does not bring people together, wars are never redemptive, they just drive the other side away from Christ. The Church is always called to be a signpost to the redemption found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When someone like Kyle walks into your church, they are asking themselves the question "Am I welcome here?", and are watching you through your actions to determine if they are in fact welcome or will they be dismissed. Our goal as Christian is not to "fix them", because unless you are God or their therapist, you do not know the best way to resolve their dysphoria. It is to show through our actions that "Yes, you are welcome here", and to foster relationships that allow everyone involved to grow closer to Christ.
Part 1
Part 2
You find yourself at church on a Sunday morning and find yourself sitting next to this young man who looks to be in his late 20s. During your church's greeting time, you introduce yourself to him and ask if he's new because you haven't seen him before. He says that his name is Kyle and he just moved to the area due to a job transfer. Eventually, the two of you become Facebook friends and you see on your newsfeed one day a picture that a girl tags him in a picture of a group of girls, the one on the end looks a lot like him. Intrigued, you investigate further and one of the comments give it away that that is in fact him. How do you respond?
Dr. Mark Yarhouse, Christian psychologist regarding as the leading Christian researcher on gender dysphoria says that everyone's view will fall into one of three lenses, the "Integrity" lens, "Disability" lens, and and the "Diversity" lens. The first of these, the Integrity lens, views sex and gender, and therefore gender identity, as the sacred distinctness of of maleness and femaleness reflected both on one's body and mind. Therefore, any kind of cross-gender identification such as being transgender, transsexual, or possibly even having gender dysphoria threatens to dishonor the sacred distinction and Creational order between male and female, denies the integrity of one's own sex, and mars the divine images of distinct maleness and femaleness. The second of these is the "Disability" lens, this views gender dysphoria as the result of living in a fallen-world, but not a direct moral choice. If the "Brain Theory" or any other theory is to be believed, it's just another human experience of the way that thing's aren't supposed to be. It is the same as anyone with anxiety disorders, depression, or anything else where we do not discuss their struggle as a moral problem, but a psychological one. Therefore, we should care and treat someone with gender dysphoria with the same care and concern as someone with another condition, and they likely see value in both what scripture says about the sacredness of male and female and what the research, intervention and treatment of dysphoria. The last of these views is the "Diversity" lens, this views sees transgender individuals as something to be celebrated, just another expression of the different ways to be human. Therefore, it is not something that should be shunned, and treatment is not seen as much as treating the problem but more the person expressing themselves.
I'm not going to say which of these is right and which one of these is wrong, that's partially because I personally see value in all three of them. I see the first representing genuine concern for the differences between male and female, and the ways that each have their own unique purposes in the Kingdom of God that the other sex simply cannot do. I see the second having value in psychotherapy and pastoral care, it helps us gain empathy and have compassion for the individuals facing these issues. The last one, I think is best at giving the person a sense of community, a place to belong, an affirm their experiences.
The question "Where do I belong?" is a very important question because every human has a deep psychological need for community. This question is ultimately what the question and drives and tears the heart of not only Christian transgender individuals, but any Christian with an LGBT identity. What the transgender community has done an excellent job at doing is providing that place and being attractive because it answers the question "Where do I belong?". The Church, while most churches want to be a community where all people feel like they belong since we're all broken and in need of grace, it is failing Christians who have gender dysphoria, and those with gender dysphoria who are not Christian. For example, in Dr. Yarhouse's study regarding Christians with gender dysphoria, one participant said when asked about what they would like out of the Church "Someone to cry with me rather than just denounce me. Hey, it is scary to see God not rescue someone from cancer or schizophrenia or [gender dysphoria]...but learn to allow your compassion to overcome your fear and repulsion.
When it comes to responding to transgender individuals, too often to Churches and Christians immediately jump to the integrity lens, and urge that individuals with gender dysphoria can be healed by learning to act and live in according with their birth sex. If the dysphoria does not go away, then that is just their "thorn in the flesh". The problem with this isn't that it's wrong, it's that it completely ultimately completely ignores the dysphoria, which in my last blog post was described by those who experience it. That's not called ministering, witness, pastoral care, whatever you want to call. That is simply just reacting and being dismissive of the person and their experiences.
What is ultimately the Christian message, the gospel, all about? Redemption and restoration. We, as Christians are redeemed by the blood of Christ in his sacrificial death on the cross, and are called to redeem others and partner with Christ in the restoration of all things. Measuring how well a person's psychological gender aligns with their physical sex is not redemptive or restorational, showing them to Christ by showing them who Jesus was in order to transform us into His image, is. It is tempting when speaking about these things to join into the cultures wars about sex and gender, but that does not bring people together, wars are never redemptive, they just drive the other side away from Christ. The Church is always called to be a signpost to the redemption found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When someone like Kyle walks into your church, they are asking themselves the question "Am I welcome here?", and are watching you through your actions to determine if they are in fact welcome or will they be dismissed. Our goal as Christian is not to "fix them", because unless you are God or their therapist, you do not know the best way to resolve their dysphoria. It is to show through our actions that "Yes, you are welcome here", and to foster relationships that allow everyone involved to grow closer to Christ.
