4/16/23 - Pizza, prayer, and transgender identities!

Last night in high school we ate pizza, prayed, and tackled one of the most controversial conversations our students face - transgender identities. If you would like to pray with us, you can find a running list of our prayer requests here!

There is so much that I could write about this topic, but I think that watching the mentor video from this week's curriculum sums up all of my thoughts better than I could here. If you have access to the curriculum, simply log in and select the mentor video for session 8 - transgender identities.

To try and make a very nuanced and difficult conversation short - we believe that God created humans in His image, and He created them biologically male and female. Our culture has complicated this by leading us to believe that certain behaviors, interests, and tendencies are stereotypically masculine or feminine. In the process of finding identity (especially in a digital age) students typically look for some quality within themselves that sets them apart and makes them special to build the foundation of their identity.

If a student who was born female finds herself interested in things that are stereotypically masculine (football, G.I. Joes, cars, etc.) we would maintain that those interests do not detract from her image-bearing-female-ness. That's a mouthful. We would say that none of those hobbies or interests call her God-given identity into question. The complication comes when students are tempted to believe that interests, external appearance, or inner perception take precedence over their identity as an image-bearer.

There is a very real sense in culture today that struggling for a cause or perceiving oneself as oppressed in some way lends meaning or credibility to their identity. There is almost a sense of pride in struggling, and this is the case for all people across sexual orientation or gender identity. I'm sure this also adds to the difficulty of resting in our identity as image bearers. Jesus already struggled on our behalf, He paid the price, and before we even took our first breath delighted in us.

The video encouraged students to keep their identity as an image bearer at the core of their being, and to express the extravagant love and radical obedience of  Jesus in the process. Too often we are tempted to treat those who sin publicly or differently than we do as if they are somehow “worse” or “lesser.” The Bible is clear that ALL have fallen short, and that we will all be held to account. The journey of sanctification starts in many places, and Romans 14 reminds us that “to our own master we will stand or fall.”

As that relates to people who identify as transgender, we are called love them. Matthew 22:37-39 makes this clear, but we are fallen people and the corporate church has often failed to do this well. Our transgender brothers and sisters are image bearers, worthy of love, and fallen just as we are. We maintain the authority of scripture, and believe that God’s design in creation was intentional, good, and included biological sex. We strive to preach that truth in grace. In the same breath, sin comes in all shapes and forms, and at the end of the day we all throw ourselves onto Christ's mercy. Thank God for Jesus.

Next week we are talking about LGBTQ questions, and you can find a link to that parent page HERE!

If you have any questions or want to talk more about this, I would love to meet with you! Thank you all for engaging in these topics with your students!

Have a wonderful week!