{"id":2369,"date":"2024-02-01T13:56:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T13:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/?p=2369"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:20:23","slug":"how-should-the-church-respond-to-our-loved-ones-who-identify-as-transgender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/how-should-the-church-respond-to-our-loved-ones-who-identify-as-transgender\/","title":{"rendered":"How should the church respond to our loved ones who identify as transgender?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-ca5ff7a6 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\"><div style=\"font-size:24px\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color adobe-reg-italic wp-elements-85a8a21107b8ee66b96e773a6aa630b7 wp-block-post-date has-text-color has-web-light-green-color\"><time datetime=\"2024-02-01T13:56:47+00:00\">February 1, 2024<\/time><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:45px;font-style:normal;font-weight:600;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:4px\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color proxima-font wp-elements-8489a226fd32958d683121eb2fa02d00 wp-block-post-title has-text-color\">How should the church respond to our loved ones who identify as transgender?<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-b63f0300 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f178be78dddf9e5d3b3c574acef1e382 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">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\u2014back 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0bb52df789e11347d14574001356d373 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">I wondered then\u2014as I wonder now\u2014if some churches have lost their fear of God.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-541963568bb7cb7b7379aa32d64739fb wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">My dad deserved the truth. He deserved then\u2014as your loved one deserves now\u2014to hear in love, God\u2019s truth about homosexuality and transgenderism. How much better it would have been if the church leaders had come alongside him in a gracious way and had shown him the truth from God\u2019s Holy Word. The truth is found in being who God created us to be (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Ephesians 2:10). Our identity is found in Christ, not in the distorted view the world offers us. Culture does not define us; it only confuses us when it defines God\u2019s creation based on someone\u2019s desired gender. Homosexuality and transgender is merely a political terms used to destroy both the individual and his or her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cce0daad519085f0d205a55571b6fbaa wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">I don\u2019t believe anyone wants to have these issues. However, individuals seek to satisfy their emotional or mental dissatisfaction with reality for many reasons. But the temptation of going to other side where the grass looks greener can be harmful. Any of us can encounter temptation at any time and in any place. Each of us is prey to weaknesses, and we all fall short of God\u2019s standard of righteousness (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:2). Sin separates us from God; therefore, sin weakens our relationship with Him. To restore that fellowship, we must renounce our sinful behavior. God knows we aren\u2019t perfect. If we were perfect, we wouldn\u2019t need a Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-724f2bfb03f2a17c26fb10ceadd86d89 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">God calls us to be godly representations of Him, not of the culture. Yet there are some churches that are divided on the transgender issue. Sadly, some church members don\u2019t even realize where their denominational leadership stands on this issue.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-28c60b62efe01d55d9af4d021b12160d wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">What if the leadership at my dad\u2019s church had arranged a personal, yet loving meeting so they could have gotten to know him without encouraging him in his sin? What if even one of the male church leaders had gently pointed out that the Bible said, \u201cin His own image, in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created them\u201d (Genesis 1:27). What if one of those leaders had begun a godly relationship with my dad\u2014a relationship that revealed what really made my dad tick?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d4f3550b524b9313110bcf69791842e3 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">In such a relationship, church leaders may have learned about the hurt and rejection my dad faced in his young life. What would have happened if those men had invited him to join the men\u2019s breakfast Bible study or to meet for a cup of coffee and pie (which he loved). What if the church truly believed in the transforming work of the Holy Spirit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fb1cb1b0eaab4082841fe290dacda7b2 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The best way to address sexual and relational issues is with a Jesus-would-have-done mindset. You\u2019ve probably seen this slogan: what-would-Jesus-do? Yet how many of us Christians know what that looks like day in and day out? Jesus always exemplified compassion for those who were lost (Matthew 9:36). Church leaders and Christians should be compassionate toward those who are hurting and have lost their way. Jesus engaged with sinners as He tried to influence them for the Kingdom of God (Mark 2:15-17). Jesus wasn\u2019t afraid to be honest with folks who had spiritual issues (Mark 12:28-34). And even though the rich young man didn\u2019t truly love God, Jesus still loved him (Mark 10:21). &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eb622a23e01295821caf9485afac9516 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Transgenderism is only symptoms of a bigger problem\u2014a heart problem. God did not create male, female and \u201c?\u201d If He did, it goes against His own Word, and that is not of God but rather of the enemy. God speaks of life, righteousness, and love. Satan speaks of death, lies, and hatred for God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ff3f469f448ffeb2461fdef4a023e2bd wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Repentance leads to a changed heart. But how can a person know he or she should repent if churches stand up for sin and sinful actions or condone them by remaining silent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4c8076a491d0540b88a87350fded2731 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">I wish my dad had attended a church where people loved him without affirming his sinful ways. I wish the church leaders and members had loved him without loving the way he lived. If they had taught him God\u2019s truth\u2014addressing his need to repent and obey the ways of God as they stood by him and demonstrated the biblical truth of manhood\u2014it may have made a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f01aec8eb8b3ccb4dfad3557f848de86 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Examine your heart. Perhaps you need to ask your church leadership a few questions: What do they really believe about homosexuality and transgenderism? What effects of those beliefs pour over into the lives of others?&nbsp; How can we all accurately model what Jesus Christ exemplifies through His Holy Word?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"gsp_post_data\" \r\n\t            data-post_type=\"post\" \r\n\t            data-cat=\"uncategorized\" \r\n\t            data-modified=\"120\"\r\n\t            data-created=\"1706795807\"\r\n\t            data-title=\"How should the church respond to our loved ones who identify as transgender?\" \r\n\t            data-home=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u2014back to when I was a little girl who desired the church to know what our family was &#8230; <a title=\"How should the church respond to our loved ones who identify as transgender?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/how-should-the-church-respond-to-our-loved-ones-who-identify-as-transgender\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How should the church respond to our loved ones who identify as transgender?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Denise Shick","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/denise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"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\u2014back to when I was a little girl who desired the church to know what our family was&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369\/revisions\/2373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}