The collision between the church, countless families, and their loved ones in the LGBT community continues to demonstrate the powerful impact, especially on Christian businesses, of the US Supreme Court’s re-definition of marriage to include same-sex unions. Christians who deny the legitimacy of or fail to affirm the homosexual lifestyle are routinely denounced as homophobic, intolerant, even hateful. This intimidation tactic used for almost every LGBT-related issue should alarm us. It continues to rip apart Christ’s church by encouraging some denominations to endorse the LGBT lifestyle. Sadly, these churches shift away from their biblical stance, aided by religious leaders with…

I’ve wrestled with gender identity for about twenty-five years, yet through it all, I’ve seen God’s faithfulness and love. Born into a family that loved the Lord, I put my faith in Jesus at age five. My adoption into His family and the Holy Spirit’s presence have provided protection and a tether to hold on to as I’ve worked through my gender identity issues. When I entered puberty, I began to struggle with my identity. I didn’t know how to handle the feelings or even what they were. I fantasized about being something or someone else—a cartoon character or a…

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? 2 Corinthians 11:28–29 When have you used the phrase “besides everything else” in a conversation about an additional task or responsibility placed on your shoulders? In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he listed the numerous hardships he had endured as a missionary—beatings, imprisonment, and shipwrecks, hunger, and verbal attacks. He then said, “Besides everything else …” and mentioned his daily responsibilities. Maybe you identify with Paul. You’re juggling home and work responsibilities as…

I have often heard men confess that they have thoughts that something was wrong with them, that they should have been born female. If they hear the thoughts and whispers often enough, they begin to believe them, especially when the lies have haunted them since their childhood. Consider this: When an adult male says he remembered “feeling this way”—that he was supposed to have been born female—since he was young, he might be telling the truth. He might not remember a time when he did not feel “this way.” That doesn’t mean, however, he was born that way. It likely…

Many transgendered people will seek out ways to transition from their birth gender to the opposite gender.  Whether or not transgendered persons actually pursue sex reassignment surgery, it is not uncommon for some individuals to engage in hormone therapies.  With more acceptance of GID and educational and mental health organizations promoting that these individuals pursue transgender lifestyles, children prescribed hormones to block their gender specific puberty (GnRH analogs), and those to increase opposite sex characteristic (estrogen or testosterone) are on the rise.  Some medical providers make the sympathetic case that since GID children are at high risk for suicide, running…

As summer approaches, love is the air. Does this sound familiar? Love should be something expressed in each day of life. Loving someone as God loves us does not change, not in reality? Many have been told in no uncertain terms, if we don’t accept the decisions of a loved one in a same sex relationship or transitioning to the opposite sex, we don’t truly love our love one. But in truth, our love does not diminish due to how he or she has decided to live their life. Yet cultural tells us otherwise, and sometimes this causes the family…

Jesus Came to Heal. After a 10-year uphill journey, I no longer see myself as the ex-wife of a transgender individual. I am Ester. God did something for me, and he’ll do it for you because he’s no respecter of persons. I’ve been through a storm, as many of you have. I looked up the word storm in the Bible’s original languages—Hebrew and Greek. Strong’s Concordance has many words for storm. It can mean earthquake, shaking, flooding, water, rain, and wind. It can refer to a physical storm, but it can also refer to an inner shaking. All these storms—inside…

How should the church respond to our loved ones who identify as transgender? Recently, after a phone conversation with a church leader in Texas, my heart was troubled. It seemed as if I had traveled back in time—back to when I was a little girl who desired the church to know what our family was living through with my dad. Years later, after he left my mother and became Becky, I was disheartened again when I discovered that the church he was attending in Pittsburgh, PA, supported his new identity. How could I not feel sad? I wondered then—as I…

Does God want you stay in your grief?  When you hear the words of a loved one identifying at gay or transgender, your heart sinks and grief appears to be overwhelming. I was reminded of this while listening inventively to family members who recently came into the office, and looked for someone to understand the grief they are experiencing at this time.  Job feels like his only hope in the midst of the council he has received is to have a personal audience with God. Job looked for some relief with the sadness and the extreme loss he was in…

Dear Friends, Many of us have cherished Christmas memories and stories. But while reminiscing feels good in the moment, our family’s present circumstances can threaten to overshadow the true reason for the season. Because perhaps more than any other holiday, Christmas is loaded with emotions and expectations. Christian families with gay and transgender loved ones often feel particularly helpless this time of year when the longing for joy and peace collides with unwelcome anxiety and conflict. We may find despair in our family’s current “story.” Just when hope seems far-off  – God is with us. Immanuel. Two thousand years ago,…