Transgendered: is there room in the church for them?
Transgendered:
is there room in the church for them?
It is a big question that we need to be asking ourselves: is there room in the church for the trans men and women of our communities?
And the more personal version of that question: is there room in our hearts and in our lives for trans men and women? Even if we disagree with a person’s foundational lifestyle choices, are we ready to lovingly connect with them? Would we treat them with the same dignity that we’d hope to receive?
Not long ago, we took our family to see the movie "Jesus Revolution". I was moved to tears repeatedly throughout the film as I rejoiced in the true stories of what took place in that young "hippie" generation of the 1970's. Psychedelic drugs, efforts to find peace, and promises of free love simply could not satisfy the longings of their hearts, but Jesus could.
The movie demonstrated how one traditional church and their pastor were radically impacted when they pretty much inherited a young adult group of hippies overnight. Some of faithful church-goers were resistant and offended at first, but in time yielded to the move of the Spirit. Unfortunately others in the church straight-out refused to worship in the same building with them. I actually appreciated the honest depiction of how poorly some Christians responded. Multiple times throughout the film I was moved to tears by the testimony of all that the Spirit did in people's lives.
When the movie was over and we left the theatre, one of our sons asked me, "Who do you think the 'hippies' of today are?" He was asking, “Who are the ones that most of the church doesn’t really know what to do with?”
I knew right away; it is the people who currently identify under the LGBTQ+ banner.
The hippies of a previous generation were hungry for identity and were shaping it for themselves through music, fashion, drugs, and sexually unrestrained lifestyles. The hunger remains in our generation too and there is a wild throwing off of the boundaries that God gave to humanity. In a search for liberation, we see not only the rejection of what God says we can do, but now also the rejection of who God says we can be. But, the majority of these young people don’t yet know God, and how can they know Him unless someone tells them? (Romans 10:14-15)
The culture is promising a young generation that if they “liberate themselves” from the constraints of gender and committed heterosexual relationships, they will find true life. Those who have watched the trends of history know that they are going to run out of road soon. Whenever humanity resists the loving bounds of a wise Heavenly Father, we end up in chains.
The laws of God are not just judicial, with clearly outlined restrictions and requirements. The laws of God are also descriptive of reality such as the laws of thermodynamics. Though you resist with great effort, you cannot escape these realities.
Scripture tells us that when we build our lives on the teachings of Jesus, our homes will stand secure when the storms of life come. But for those who do not obey Jesus, the storms will leave them desolate. Where do you think those people will run to while the rains are falling and the winds are howling? Guaranteed it will be to the neighbour whom they know will over them shelter.
The flood waters are rising and we are seeing surging levels of desolation and desperation. No amount of public parading or community affirmation can soothe the wounds or remove the sexual shame that has been heaped onto a young generation. We are hearing more and more from those who once identified as trans, but have since de-transitioned. They explain how they found ways to manipulate their caregivers and doctors to give them what they wanted, and are grieved now that no one questioned their decision. After the most extreme measures were taken, they realized that gender reassignment and hormone therapies would not heal the ache within them. Some of them have found hope in Jesus. Others are still searching.
That being said, I’m concerned that the people of God, we won’t know what to do when the Good Shepherd brings these lost sheep into the fold. Will we have room in our services, in our homes, and in our hearts for the young man who is wearing nail polish or feminine clothing? What about the young women who has beard stubble or a double mastectomy? Will we have compassion and patience for the sanctifying process that the Holy Spirit has them in? Will we open wide the front door for them and show hospitality, inviting them to know God and respond to Jesus by following Him as Lord of all?
Years ago when I was reading the book of Isaiah, one passage jumped out at me. Chapter 56 speaks of a “promise of salvation” for the Gentiles. This is salvation for the ones who were once not a part of the nation of Israel. These are the ones who were once not children of the promise. Isaiah was prophesying of a time when the dividing line between the ones who could belong and the ones who could not would be eliminated, and this was the passage that Jesus referenced during His earthly ministry when he cleared tables out of the outer courts of the temple!
Listen to what verses 3-5 say:
“Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me and hold fast My covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off…even them I will bring too My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer…for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
In ancient times a eunuch was a man castrated in order to serve either within a religious cult or within the courts of the king. There were numerous ancient religions whose gods were also depicted as castrated, androgynous, or gender-fluid, and so to be castrated or to have ones genitals crushed was seen as a sacrificial offering.
In the midst of this culture, Yahweh called to the Israelite people and laid out clear boundaries for morality and gender. In Deuteronomy chapters 22 and 23, we read that God didn’t want His people to cross dress or to enter the place of worship if their genitals had been crushed. He was to be worshipped differently than the surrounding nation’s gods were worshipped.
So then this promise of salvation for the eunuchs found in Isaiah 56 is particularly notable! While once the castrated man would be separated from the people of God, now we see hope for restoration. Go look again at those verses, and now would you consider my own paraphrase?:
“Don’t let the gender-transitioned ones say, ‘I am destined to be an outsider forever. There is no hope that I can bring life again.’ No! The Lord says to them, “If you will enter into the rest found through My Son, if you will choose what pleases Me, and remain in covenant with me, I will give you a secure place in My house, amongst My people, and in the kingdom. You may have switched your name and not know what name to use now, you may not have children to carry on your name or legacy, but I will give you an everlasting name and I will not forget you.”
So, let’s go back to our original question, “Is there room in the church for the trans men and women of our communities?” It sure sounds to me that there is room in the heart of Jesus.
I know that there remains the question, “How do we communicate about all the topics of the ‘rainbow’, communicating the laws of God, while still making it clear that there is room at our table for the unsure, the transitioned and the de-transitioned?”
We will need to study the Word, spend time in prayer, and be led by the Spirit to navigate this question with courage and wisdom in our polarized society. We will certainly be misunderstood, labeled and rejected by some, even as Jesus was. Some may call us too liberal, accusing us of “eating with the tax collectors and sinners”. Others may accuse us of being too narrow-minded as we walk the narrow path of righteousness that Jesus called us to.
But one day when we look in the face of our Lord Jesus, may we stand at rest, knowing that we did not close a door in the face of anyone who was searching for salvation.