[This short series came from a recent discussion I had with a Christian friend. Please notice an important word in the title of this series – “serving.” I hope my thoughts will be helpful to you.]

The number of transgender people in the United States is estimated to be about 1.6 million. The data is from one year ago (June, 2022). Determining the number of transgenders who attend Christian churches in the U.S. is more difficult to determine, but many denominational groups and individual churches allow transgender clergy.

35 years after Sky Anderson became the first transgender person to be a Christian minister, a growing number of Protestant churches in Europe and the United States of America ordain transgender people as pastors and teachers of the faith and conduct weddings for post-operative transsexual people in their confirmed gender. Cambridge.org

What are Transgenders?

The term “transgender” refers to a person whose sex assigned at birth (i.e. the sex assigned by a physician at birth, usually based on external genitalia) does not match their gender identity (i.e., one’s psychological sense of their gender). Some people who are transgender will experience “gender dysphoria,” which refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. Though gender dysphoria often begins in childhood, some people may not experience it until after puberty or much later. American Psychiatric Association

Transgenders are members of the LGBTQIA+ community. A 2020 report found that almost 5.3 million adult members of that community are religious — some moderately and some highly religious. According to the report:

Among religious LGBTQ+ adults, there are an estimated 1.5 million Protestants, 1.3 million Roman Catholics, 1.3 million who report belonging to another Christian religion, 425,000 who identify with another non-Christian religion, as well as 131,000 Jews, 107,000 Mormons, and 106,000 who are Muslim.

Religiosity Among LGBT Adults in the US, October 2020

Though the report did not break down the number of transgenders who are moderately or highly religious, they were included in the overall findings. The fact that many denominations ordain transgender clergy is some evidence that the number may be higher than we know.

The question, I believe, is how Christians who are not LGBTQIA+ should respond to ‘trans’ people attending their church. The answer, I believe, should be “biblically.” One of the best examples of responding to people biblically is found in Ephesians 4 –

“… that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:14-16

Speaking Truth In Love

I want to key in on Paul’s admonition to speak the truth in love. Because people are both physical and spiritual (body and soul), we know that the Bible will address every aspect of every person’s life. What Paul addressed in Ephesians 4 was how Christ gave a group of spiritually gifted individuals to churches (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) to equip the saints for their “work of ministry.” The purpose was for the “edifying” of the Body of Christ.

Jesus told His disciples to preach the Gospel “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8), to “make disciples of all the nations,” and to teach those disciples to observe “all things” that He had commanded the apostles (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus called Saul of Tarsus to take the Gospel to “Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Saul (Paul) took the Gospel of Christ to Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire. That’s evidence that there was and is no group that God does not want to reach with the saving message of the Gospel of Christ –

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17

Christians should respond according to what the Bible teaches. That means speaking the truth in love, but how does that affect what Christians say to ‘trans’ people? Many churches and denominations are divided over the biblical way to treat transgenders who want to attend and participate in the life of the church. Many want to attend and serve. Some want to lead. What is the truth about transgenderism, what does the Bible teach about it, and how do you speak that truth in love?

I’d like to offer a couple of ideas for you to consider.

Body

First, let’s look at what makes a trans person “trans.”

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines transgender as:

of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth … especially : of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity is opposite the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) offers this explanation:

Transgender is a broad term that can be used to describe people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were thought to be when they were born. “Trans” is often used as shorthand for transgender. To treat a transgender person with respect, you treat them according to their gender identity, not their sex at birth … Gender identity is your internal knowledge of your gender – for example, your knowledge that you’re a man, a woman, or another gender. Gender expression is how a person presents their gender on the outside, often through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice or body characteristics.

National Center for Transgender Equality

Two important phrases here are “gender identity” and “gender expression.” According to the NCTE, gender identity is a person’s internal knowledge, while gender expression is how a person presents their gender outwardly.

It is the outward or external expression of gender that most people are familiar with when they think of a transgender person. A trans person has made a conscious determination to present their body in a way that is different than the gender they were when they were born. Some trans people do that through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, or voice. However, some trans people go through a medical process that alters their physical body to a variety of degrees.

Gender At Birth

You may have noticed that whereas the NCTE wrote — “different from the gender they were thought to be when they were born” — I wrote — “different than the gender they were when they were born.” Do you see the difference? One perspective (mine) of gender at birth is based on a newborn’s sex organs and chromosomal makeup. Male and female sex organs are different for a specific reason. God designed that reason, so religious trans people should find that important. The other is based on gender identity, which the LGBTQIA+ community believes can be “fluid.”

Harvard Medical School defines gender fluidity this way:

Gender fluidity refers to change over time in a person’s gender expression or gender identity, or both. That change might be in expression, but not identity, or in identity, but not expression. Or both expression and identity might change together.

Harvard Medical School, 2020

Harvard Medical also gives some examples concerning the difference between transgender and gender fluidity:

While some people develop a gender identity early in childhood, others may identify with one gender at one time and then another gender later on. For example, a person who was designated female on their original birth certificate may identify as a girl until adolescence, then identify as a boy for the rest of their life. This person would be considered transgender, but not necessarily gender-fluid.

Another person who follows this developmental arc may only identify as a boy until they are in their 20s, and then identify as nonbinary, and then identify as a boy again later in adulthood. This person could be considered gender-fluid, because they experienced one or more changes in their gender identity or gender expression. It’s wise to note, though, that they may never use the term gender-fluid as an identity label for themself.

Harvard mentioned the “original birth certificate.” A doctor and the medical team involved in helping a mother give birth to a child have traditionally noted the child’s sex on a birth certificate: male or female. That’s based on the medical observation of what sex organs the child had at birth. However, many in the LGBTQ+ community believe it has been a mistake to include the physical observation of which sexual organs a child had at birth because the child may not identify that way at a later time.

Many LGBTQIA+ organizations help transgender people in the process of changing their birth certificates, drivers license, and other public records to match the change in their gender identity. Some hospitals are no longer listing the sex of a child on birth certificates. The American Medical Association came out in support of that a couple of years ago (June 2021). Here are some interesting notes from the AMA about the subject:

Sex designation refers to the biological difference between males and females, which is what is recorded on the birth certificate. While there is no clear standard for defining sex designation, it is typically determined at birth by a child’s physician or parents based on external genitalia.

Gender is a social construct that describes the way persons self-identify or express themselves. A person’s gender identity may not always be exclusively male or female and may not always correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Birth certificates have changed over time.

Removing the Sex Designation from the Public Portion of the Birth Certificate (Resolution 5-I-19), American Medical Association

So, how should Christians respond to Harvard, the AMA, NCTE, and other leading voices about gender identity? Remember what I wrote at the beginning of this article? “Christians should respond according to what the Bible teaches.” What does the Bible teach about gender?

Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Genesis 1:26-28

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:21-24

God created “male and female.” Interesting. That’s what the AMA doesn’t want listed on a birth certificate. Why not? Why would any medical group, any hospital, any doctor, any medical professional, not want “male” or “female” listed on a certificate of birth? God created people as either males or females. Seems like a good idea to go with what God said. It’s also the “science” that the scientific community promotes everyone following. So, from both a physical and spiritual perspective identifying someone according to their birth sex makes sense.

Just a reminder that we’re addressing what the NCTE called gender expression — “how a person presents their gender on the outside, often through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice or body characteristics.”

Male and female are “body characteristics.” Those characteristics can be identified externally and internally. Males are born with a male sex organ. Females are born with a female sex organ. Parents and medical professionals can identify that at birth because it is something that can be “seen” with the eyes. Males are born with one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. Females are born with two X chromosomes. Those cannot be seen with the eyes, except under a special microscope.

Chromosomes are so small that they can fit inside each of the billions of cells that make up the human body. Chromosomes are made from DNA and protein and are part of making every person unique (one of a kind). However, some people don’t identify with who they are physically. They can’t change their chromosomal structure, but they can go through a medical process that will change how their body appears and functions (to a degree).

Is it okay in God’s eyes for a person to be whatever gender they choose? If so, why? If not, why not? Whichever way you believe, how will you speak the truth in love to transgenders in your church?

Next Time

Christians may be surprised that many trans people will be open with them about their being transgender. We’ll look at having the ‘Trans’ talk with friends at church in the next part of our special series.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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