MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

PASTORAL CARE OF PENITENT TRANSGENDERED PEOPLE IN AN

EVANGELICAL CHURCH CONTEXT

A PAPER

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

DR 31280 THE BIBLE AND PASTORAL CARE

BY

DAVID B. DIXON

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

FEBRUARY 9, 2018
 Introduction

Western civilization has been riding a tsunami of cultural change that can be

traced back to the sexual enlightenment of the 1960’s; it began with feminism and

sexuality in the 60’s, then onto homosexuality which resulted in the Obergefell

decision that made gay marriage legal in all 50 states, and now the transgender

revolution. The moral shift took an approach the church was ill-equipped to

handle; not because of any lessening of the authority of Scripture, but because the

church had become dependent upon cultural Christianity for its relative comfort

and success. When the culture changed, the church just was not ready. Instead of

dealing with behaviors or theology, the church had to deal with identity issues.

The church has rested on centuries of no one calling human identity, at least

sexual human identity, into question. However, the centrality and secular strength

of the transgendered argument is birthed out of the perceived subjectivity of

defining personal identity. Al Mohler argued, "the transgender

revolution…undermines the most basic structures of society," and seeks to destroy,

"any understanding of human identity-based in the Christian tradition…and the

worldview that has shaped today's world."1 The intrinsic cultural prohibition

1
R Albert Mohler, We Cannot Be Silent: Speaking Truth to a Culture
Redefining Sex, Marriage, and the Very Meaning of Right and Wrong (Nashville,
Tennessee: Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2015), 69.

1
against defining identity by objective criteria rather than personal subjective whims

is one of the most emotional, political, and deeply painful battlefields ever devised

by the fallen mind of man.

Statement of Thesis

The latest manifestation of the sexual revolution is no small threat; some

researchers argue nearly 1.4 million people in the United States identify

themselves as transgender.2 Out of context, 1.4 million people does not seem

significant, but when compared to a like cultural expression, homosexuality, the

numbers taken on a haunting new reality. In 2012 Gallup reported that 3.5% of

Americans identified themselves as homosexual; in 2016, the percentage is 4.1%

or roughly 10 million people, which represents a full .5% increase in just four

years.3 Researchers in the field of transgenderism, like Gary J. Gates, argue the

growth curve seen in the reporting of self-identified transgendered people will

mirror the growth curve already demonstrated with self-identified homosexuals.4 If

the position Gates holds eventually manifests as truth, then the church will be

2
A.R. Flores, J.L. Herman, G.J. Gates, & T.N.T. Brown. How Many Adults
Identify as Transgender in the United States? Los Angeles, CA: The Williams
Institute, 2016. 3.
3
Gary J. Gates, “In U.S., More Adults Identifying as LGBT,” Gallup,
January 11, 2017, http://news.gallup.com/poll/201731/lgbt-identification-
rises.aspx?version=print.
4
Flores et al., 7.

2
waging a culture war on two growing fronts. The church must become proactive in

its approach to transgendered people lest it finds itself without a response to the

present cultural revolution. This paper intends to argue that transgendered

individuals are redeemable no matter their current physical state; therefore, it is the

responsibility of the pastor to create a local church culture in which penitent

transgendered people are ministered to through biblical community, biblical

counseling, and biblical teaching.

Research Scope & Methodology

The first step to demonstrate the veracity of the thesis is to define what

transgenderism is and what it is not. Due to cultural misunderstandings and the

political polarization of the issue, pertinent and objective research which would

point to a codified definition of transgenderism alludes the attention of mass media

and the broader population as a whole, including the church. A definition that is

based on biomedical research, psychological studies, and statistical analysis will

demonstrate a distinction between gender dysphoric and transgendered individuals.

Second, a brief exegesis of selected biblical passages will demonstrate the

willful state of rebellion against God that transgenderism represents, which

predicates the need for pastoral care. One of the governing limitations of this

research is that it assumes a transgendered person is seeking access to membership

within a local church; therefore, the authority of Scripture to speak into the life of

3
the transgendered person is assumed due to their desire to gain access to

membership in the church. The exegesis of Scripture serves as the foundation for

the pastoral approach argued in the next section.

The final argument for the veracity of the thesis will be an analysis of the

pastoral responsibilities manifested in the need to care for a penitent transgendered

person. The argument presented in this final section will first demonstrate the

necessity for the pastor to instruct the congregation on how to deal with

transgendered persons within the context of the local church. The remaining

argument will be devoted to the ministry of the pastor to penitent transgendered

persons through biblical teaching and biblical counseling.

Defining Transgenderism

The term “transgender” is extremely ambiguous, both in the confines of the

academy and in the culture.5 Infamously, the term "transgender" is closely aligned

with the political and social interests of the homosexual community due to the

commonality of the use of the initials "LGBTQ.”6 Other terms which are typically

5
Peter Ringo, “Media Roles in Female-to-Male Transsexual and
Transgender Identity Formation,” International Journal of Transgenderism 6, no. 3
(2012): 1-2.
6
The letters in “LGBTQ” stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,
and Queer. These are the traditionally marketed initials which culturally define
people involved within certain lifestyles that have aligned themselves with certain
political and cultural protections. The Human Rights Campaign has expanded the

4
brought up in the conversation with transgenderism are "Gender Dysphoria" and

"Gender Identity Disorder" which include their paradigms and even have distinct

designations within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

(DSM) across multiple editions. For clarity, this section of the research is devoted

to offering a workable definition which intentionally separates "Gender Dysphoria"

from "Transgenderism." It is the contention of this paper that there is a

recognizable distinction between the issue of identity suffered by people with

Gender Dysphoria and the action of embracing that identity through hormonal or

surgical therapy in the case of transgendered persons.7

letters to include "LGBTQIAPK," which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,

Transgendered, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Polyamorous, and Kink.
7
The precedent for this distinction is based upon a 2004 UK statue called the
"UK Gender Recognition Act." This statute set guidelines for when a person could
be granted a "Gender Recognition Certificate" which would designate their
transgenderism and signal the acquisition of the desired sex. The process required
persons to be clinically diagnosed with significant dysphoria and then to have lived
in that expressed gender for up to two years before being officially recognized.
This precedent is extremely helpful in distinguishing the difference between
persons suffering from dysphoria and persons who have embraced the
incongruence and have sought therapy, hormonal or otherwise, to resolve the
incongruence. The intention of this definition in this research is to differentiate
between Gender Dysphoria, which might not be inherently sinful, and
transgenderism, which is inherently sinful. For more information on the UK
Gender Recognition Act see
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/contents, and Rick Thomas and Peter
Saunders, “Gender Dysphoria,” CMF Files 59 (Spring 2016).

5
 Gender Dysphoria

For the better part of human history, there has been no distinction between

the sex and gender of a person. If a person was born with male genitalia, then they

were male; conversely, if a person was born with female genitalia, then they were

female. With historical outliers notwithstanding, the objective reality of sex and

gender were inextricably linked.8 However, humanity must suffer the existence of

living within a creation that has fallen into depravity at its own hands; an existence

which is sometimes marred by the breaking of created normality. One such

breaking from created normality is a condition called "Gender Dysphoria." The

DSM-V defines Gender Dysphoria as, “the distress that may accompany the

incongruence between one’s experienced or expressed gender and one’s assigned

8
Throughout history, there have been documented and studied cases in
which persons suffered from ambiguous sex characteristics and are born
biologically hermaphroditic, androgynous or intersex. The discussion presented in
this research does not pertain to these individuals since their condition is a genetic
disorder which causes their sexual presentation to be intersex. The recently
published "Nashville Statement," in article 6, delineated a theological and
determinative difference between people who identify as clinically Gender
Dysphoric and people who are born with a biological incongruence of their
physical, sexual expression. For the definition of this paper, persons suffering from
such “transgender” biological inconsistencies will be excluded. See also The
Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The Nashville Statement. 2017.
Retrieved from https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement.

6
gender.”9 Contrasted against the other conditions in the LGBTQIAPK spectrum,

Gender Dysphoria is not a choice of how someone behaves or chooses to love, but

it is a thought disorder in which a person perceives themselves to be of a different

gender than their biological sex dictates. According to the Gender Dysphoria Fact

Sheet published by the American Psychiatric Association, “the critical element of

gender dysphoria is the presence of clinically significant distress associated with

the condition.”10 It is the contention of this paper when Gender Dysphoria is

strictly defined as an issue of identity and thought, which is contrasted against the

actionable steps to become transgendered.11

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Dsm-5, 5th ed.

9

(Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 2013), 451.

10
American Psychiatric Association. Gender Dysphoria [Fact Sheet]. 2013.
Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/.../APA_DSM-5-
Gender-Dysphoria.pdf.
11
It is important to note that gender is becoming increasingly viewed as a
social construct rather than an objective reality. According to prevailing cultural
influences, gender ought to be no longer viewed as binary and in infinitely fluid,
which is contrasted against biological sex. This perception would render the
definition proposed by this paper moot since there would be no stereotyped gender.
Although this might seem implausible, the momentum in the culture is pushing to a
non-binary and fluid view of gender. For more information see Judith Butler,
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (London: Routledge,
1990), 7.

7
 Transgender

The term "Transgender" has increasingly become an umbrella term for any

incongruence between biological sex and personal identity. When a term becomes

a catch-all for a particular subset of society a natural problem arises, who is

considered to be transgendered? The intention of this argument is to strictly define

"Transgender" as persons who have taken actionable steps to resolve the

incongruence between their biological sex and their subjectively perceived gender

by abandoning their biological sex through some therapeutic means: cross-

dressing, transvestism, or even through hormonal and surgical therapies. A brief

examination of the typically accepted gender transition process will support the

definition proposed for transgendered.

The first step in the transition process is identified as Social Transition.12 In

this step the person begins to embrace their chosen gender identity by dressing in

the stereotypical clothing associated with the gender, behaving in stereotypical

social norms associated with the gender, and using the pronouns associated with

the gender. Persons who have a vested interest in the well-being of the gender non-

conformists are advised to support the individual by using the pronouns associated

12
Michael Dellaerute, “The Church and The Transgender Issue,” Journal of
Ministry and Theology 20, no. 1 (Spring 2016): 89.

8
with their chosen gender rather than their biological sex.13 This process is defined

as a two-year transition spectrum for children and as a little as a one-year transition

spectrum for adults.

The second step in the transition process is where the steps begin to take on

more permanent status within the life of the transgender person. In step two, the

individual begins chemical therapy to promote physical, mental, and emotional

changes within the body. The hormone therapy has two functions depending on the

age of the person seeking treatment: to express the traits of the desired sex, and for

children, to block the physical expression of the birth sex.14 Puberty blockers are

used in children to delay the manifestation of maturated sexual characteristics. The

drug therapy implemented to produce the results are reversible as soon as the

therapy is stopped.15 However, unlike puberty blockers in children, when adults

begin hormone therapy the resulting physiological changes are irreversible. The

second step in the process is where many transitioning persons stop due to the

extreme physical and financial risks associated with step three.16

13
Ahmad Sherez, “Gender Dysphoria Services: A Guide for General
Practitioners and Other Healthcare Staff,” Sexual and Relationship Therapy 28, no.
3 (2013): 172-75.
Bethany Gibson and Anita Caitlin, “Care of the Child with the Desire to
14

Change Genders-Part 1,” Urologic Nursing 31, no. 4 (2011): 225.

15
Ibid.
16
Thomas, 3.

9
 Step three is the most encompassing process of all due to the variety of

surgical procedures that can be done. The surgical process is usually divided into

two main categories: top procedures and bottom procedures.17 Due to the

complexity, risks, and the financial cost involved many persons who reach this step

elect to have the top procedures performed where the surgical and financial factors

are relatively minimal compared to bottom procedures.18 Not only do these

procedures involve the risk of severe and deadly complications, but they are also to

a large extent irreversible.

The intention of defining a difference between people who suffer with

Gender Dysphoria and people who willfully decide to engage in therapies to

alleviate any tension between the biological sex and the perceived gender is to

create a clear delineation between people who suffer psychological distress from

people who willful abandon their created sexual identity to alleviate that suffering.

The sinful abandonment of created sexual identity is why the thesis addresses,

“penitent transgendered people.”

Bethany Gibson and Anita Caitlin, “Care of the Child with the Desire to
17

Change Genders-Part 2,” Urologic Nursing 31, no. 4 (2011): 231.

18
C Dhejne, et al., “An analysis of all applications for sex reassignment
surgery in Sweden, 1960-2010: Prevalence, incidence, and regrets.,” Archives of
Sexual Behavior 43, no. 8 (2014): 1535-45.

10
 The Bible and Sexual Identity

The church will ultimately fail to address the transgender issue if it relies on

secular psychology and the prevailing whims of the culture. For Evangelical

Christians, the primary source of authority and the foundation for answers to this

cultural dilemma must be sourced from the pages of Scripture. Some argue that the

Bible does not speak to the modern manifestation of transgenderism and therefore

any discussion on the sinfulness of transgendered people is irrelevant in the face of

human suffering.19 Scripture presents a case that humanity suffers because of sin

and the only way to alleviate the suffering is through redemption. This section will

support the thesis by demonstrating the need for pastoral care through a brief

exegetical survey which will show transgenderism is indeed sinful.

Genesis 1:27
20
‫א ָֽתם׃‬
ֹ ‫א֑תוֹ ָזָ֥כר וּ ְנֵק ָ֖בה ָבּ ָ֥רא‬
ֹ ‫ַוִיְּב ָ֨רא ֱאֹל ִ֤הים׀ ֶאת־ ָֽהָא ָד֙ם ְבַּצְל֔מוֹ ְבּ ֶ֥צֶלם ֱאֹל ִ֖הים ָבּ ָ֣רא‬

The importance of God’s sovereignty in defining His creation must not be

underestimated; for in the creation account, God demonstrated His proclivity to

define what and who human beings are and how they are to identify themselves.

Phyllis V. Pennese. “Providing Pastoral Care For the Transgender

19

Community.,” Gender Identity & Our Faith Communities. Human Rights

Campaign Foundation. Retrieved from
www.transfaithonline.org/fileadmin/TFexplore/Penesse-HRC-PastoralCare.pdf
20
Rudolf Kittel and Wilhelm Rudolph, Biblia Hebraica
Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997), Ge 1:27.

11
The two issues presented in Genesis 1:27 is the authority of God to order creation

thereby reserving the right within Himself to determine right from wrong, and what

it means to live as male or female.

First, Moses employed forms of the Hebrew verb ‫ברא‬, which means created,

three times in Genesis 1:27. The implication is that God is the progenitor of all

creation and therefore retains authority over His creation. Nahum Sarna

emphasized God's divine right to fundamentally order His creation by

demonstrating the particular interest in the sexual identity of humanity as

juxtaposed to that of the rest of creation. Concerning the emphasis on the sexual

identity of humanity as it relates to holiness Sarna argued, “Its proper regulation is

subsumed under the category of the holy, whereas sexual perversion is viewed with

abhorrence as an affront to human dignity and as a desecration of the divine image

in man.”21 God’s emphasis on the sexual identity harkens back to God’s statement

in Genesis 1:26, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”22

Since mankind is ‫ ברא‬in the likeness of God, it is God alone who dictates the

characteristics that define personhood.

21
Nahum M. Sarna, Genesis: Be-reshit, The Jps Torah Commentary
(Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 13.
22
New American Standard Bible (Anaheim, Calif.: Foundation Publications,
publisher for the Lockman Foundation, 1997), Genesis 1:26.

12
 The second issue is the use of “male and female” instead of “man and

woman” which necessitates interpreting 1:27 in sexual identity not just in

biological genitalia. Owen Strachan argued, “our manhood or womanhood is not

incidental; it has been given us by God as a gift.”23 Allen Ross noted the

importance of this to the authors of the LXX when they translated the text from

Hebrew into Greek; they used the parallel forms of "male and female" to preserve

the interpretive motif. The difference is not subtle; it demonstrates the grand glory

of God's intention for male and female sexual identity and function.24 When

transgendered people abandon their biological identity to appease a dysphoric

crisis, they are fundamentally rejecting the right of the Creator to establish their

identity; which is biblically defined as an act of rebellion against God and is

therefore sinful.

23
Owen Strachan, “Transgender Identity--Wishing Away God's Design,”
Answers in Genesis, March,
2015, https://answersingenesis.org/family/gender/transgender-identity-wishing-
away-gods-design/.
24
Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition
of the Book of Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1998), 112-13.

13
 Deuteronomy 22:5
25
‫ל ֹא־ִיְה ֶי֤ה ְכִלי־ֶ֙גֶב֙ר ַﬠל־ִאָ֔שּׁה ְול ֹא־ִיְלַ֥בּשׁ ֶ֖גֶּבר ִשְׂמ ַ֣לת ִא ָ ֑שּׁה ִ֧כּי תוֲֹﬠ ַ ֛בת ְיה ָ֥וה ֱאֹל ֶ ֖היָך ָכּל־ ֥ﬠֵֹשׂה ֵֽאֶלּה׃‬

To establish one of the fundamental tenants of the thesis, that the act of

assuming a gender opposite of the biological gender is sinful, an examination of

practiced transgendered issues in Scripture is necessary. The detailed prohibition

given in Deuteronomy 22:5 speaks directly to step one of the transgendered

process; namely, living a life as the identified gender rather than the biological sex

of the individual. To assume the dress of the opposite gender is, "an abomination to

the LORD your God."26 The issue is much more than clothing; the prohibition is

such that women were prevented from wearing male armor and men were

prevented from wearing anything that would assume the feminine characteristics of

a woman. The issue at hand is the assumption of the opposite gender more than

cross-dressing.27 The abomination is not in the act of dawning the clothing of the

opposite gender, but it is the rejection of the characteristics which God created the

person. In the present discussion, transgendered people reject the characteristics

with which they were endowed with by their Creator and therefore transgress the

commands of God.

25
Deuteronomy 22:5.
26
NASB, Deuteronomy 22:5.
27
Jeffrey H. Tigay, Deuteronomy: [devarim], The Jps Torah Commentary
(Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996), 200.

14
 1st Corinthians 11:14
οὐδὲ ἡ φύσις αὐτὴ διδάσκει ὑµᾶς ὅτι ἀνὴρ µὲν ἐὰν κοµᾷ ἀτιµία αὐτῷ ἐστιν,28

The New Testament writers parallel the testimony from the Hebrew

Scriptures. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 11:14 will go so far as to appeal to the common

objectiveness of defined maleness and femaleness in nature, “does not even nature

itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him.”29 The nature

Paul refers to, ἡ φύσις, is not the natural development of biological nature since the

hair follicles of men and women can often grow in the same form and length; Paul,

instead appealed to the secular culture as his proof of nature. After spending verses

3-13 on the divine expectation of men and women in worship, Paul instructed his

readers to observe the parallels of the expectations between the secular and the

sacred.30 Paul placed an inextricable link between the assumption of cross-gender

roles and the shame brought to the individual by "ἡ φύσις” and by God.31 The

shame stems from the active rebellion against the convention of culture and the

edicts of a holy God. Today, all that remains is the indictment of a still holy God.

28
Kurt Aland et al., The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition
(Interlinear with Morphology) (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993), 1 Co 11:14.
29
NASB, 1st Corinthians 11:14.
David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the
30

New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 530.

31
Dellaperute, 101-102.

15
 Pastoral Care of Penitent Transgendered People

This research has demonstrated the contrasting elements between people

who suffer with Gender Dysphoria and Transgenderism as being the difference

between thought disorder and actionable rebellion. The previous section further

demonstrated the appropriateness of applying the terms “rebellion” and “sin” to

transgendered persons due to the active and conscious decision to reject and

abandon the created norm and their biological sex. This section will deal with the

prayerfully inevitable scenario of a transgendered person who has been convicted

of their rebellion and has a desire to join a local confessional community.

The Pastor and the Congregation

The first place to begin this argument is with the pastor’s relationship with

the congregation and his ability to lead them to a correct biblical worldview

concerning transgendered people. The pastor would be naïve if he believed the

congregation he serves has not already formed an opinion on the transgender issue.

What he must do is to assess their preconceived ideas and bring the authority of

Scripture to the conversation to instill a biblical worldview concerning transgender

people.

In his assessment of his congregation, the pastor can use rubrics to gauge the

response of his people to the transgender issue. Clinical Psychologist, Mark

16
Yarhouse, provided a succinct framework for understanding the natural reaction of

people concerning gender identity issues:32

1. The Integrity Framework: This view argues complementarian importance

in the creation of maleness and femaleness. A person's biological sex is
inseparable from personhood and to abandon the biological sex is to
abandon the sacred creation gifted by God.

2. The Disability Framework: This view argues that Gender Dysphoria is

another manifestation of living in a fallen world. Gender Dysphoria is not an
immoral choice, and some who suffer with it just want it gone; but it is a
disability caused by living in a fallen world that must be dealt with through
compassion, grace, and mercy.

3. The Diversity Framework: This view articulates that all transgendered

issues must be embraced and celebrated. They are not to be maligned by
pedantic labels of sin or immorality but demonstrate the evolution of
humanity beyond constrained social constructs such as binary gender.33

Although Yarhouse’s assessment is not without its limitations, it does serve well as

a beginning rubric for assessing how the congregation naturally views gender

Mark A. Yarhouse, Understanding Gender Dysphoria: Navigating

32

Transgender Issues in a Changing Culture (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP

Academic, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2015), 45-56.
33
Within the academic community, some have leveled arguments against
Yarhouse’s treatment of the transgender issue; namely his lack of a forthright
treatment of creation and what it means to accept a transgendered person in the
church. J. Alan Branch published a critical review of Understanding Gender
Dysphoria in which he critiques Yarhouse for presenting a vague argument
concerning a commitment to biblical standards which could lead some to interpret
an approach that values compassion over the commands of God. See J. Alan
Branch, “A Review of Mark A. Yarhouse. 'Understanding Gender Dysphoria:
Navigating Transgender Issues In a Changing Culture.',” Journal for Biblical
Manhood and Womanhood 21, no. 2 (Fall 2016): 57-59.

17
issues, so a prescriptive and biblical teaching plan can be developed to instruct the

congregation on how to view transgender issues.

Dealing with the congregation concerning transgender issues poses some

very practical problems which must be evaluated even beyond a correct biblical

understanding of gender issues. The primary practical problem that must be

addressed if a penitent transgendered person seeks church membership is the

spectacle and novelty of transgenderism. Dealing with the spectacle of transgender

people is not an easy task, or a comfortable one, but it is a place in which pastors

can find very helpful resources and commonality among liberal Protestants who

have no soteriological issues with transgendered people. For instance, Focus on the

Family and United Church in Australia both produce similar guidelines for dealing

with transgendered people with compassion. One of the key areas for churches is

to demonstrate love to the individual by not ignoring them.34

34
However, neither one would agree with the other on how they are to be
addressed in a church setting. Cameron and Talbot would argue that the church
should identify them by their chosen gender while Johnston would argue that the
church ought to identify them by their birth sex. See Jeff Johnston, When
Transgender Issues Enter Your World (Colorado Springs: Focus on the Family,
2017), 13-14; and Bev Cameron and Warren Talbot, Pastoral Care with Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer People, ed. Elizabeth Teece and
Warren Talbot (Sydney: Uniting Networks Australia, 2015), 3-4.

18
 The Pastor as Biblical Teacher and Biblical Counselor

Dealing pastorally with transgendered persons is not merely correcting a

lifestyle choice; using the definition outlined in this paper, by the time a

transgendered person has reached this point they have begun the process of

physically altering themselves at some level. The altering of the individual could

be as simple as guiding them through dressing and acting in accordance with their

biological sex, or it could be as complicated as dealing with a penitent person who

has surgically altered themselves to appear as the opposite sex. In each one these

cases, the responsibility of the pastor and the church would be different, and their

response to the penitent transgendered person would be different. For the sake of

brevity, this section will deal with how a transgendered person lives their life from

the moment of repentance onward.

A biblical counseling relationship based upon discipleship would be

necessary to provide the penitent transgendered person with the constant biblical

teaching and support necessary in the reclamation of their identity in Christ rather

than their attempts to pacify their Gender Dysphoria with the abandonment of their

God-given sexual identity. Through this biblical counseling relationship based

upon discipleship, the pastor would need to instruct the new believer in two

essential truths to help them reclaim their identity in Christ: the sinfulness of their

rebellion, and the redemption and sanctification gave to them through Christ.

19
 The first teaching to reorient the new believer would be to teach them the

fundamental sinfulness of their previous decisions using Romans 1:24-32 as a

guide. Paul specifically dealt with the heart of the rebellion of transgenderism in

verses 25-27 when he stated, “οἵτινες µετήλλαξαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ

ψεύδει… διὰ τοῦτο παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς πάθη ἀτιµίας.”35 The focus of

Paul’s writing is the “exchanging of the truth for a lie” and because of their

deception “God gave them over” to their passions.36 When God "gave them over"

it was a sign of His divine judgment because they had abandoned His rightful

lordship over their lives; therefore, God no longer protected them from the depths

of depravity in their minds and hearts.37

Redemption is not merely an offer of forgiveness; there is an expectation the

new believer will abandon their previous life of death, "Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω µου

ἐλθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθείτω

µοι.”38 Paul expands upon this notion of the necessity of turning from sin for

sanctification in 1st Corinthians 6:11 with the phrase, “καὶ ταῦτά τινες ἦτε· ἀλλὰ

ἀπελούσασθε, ἀλλὰ ἡγιάσθητε.” The emphasis on the past tense “were some of

35
Romans 1:26-27.
36
NASB, Romans 1:26-27.
Thomas R. Schreiner, Baker Exegetical Commentary On the New
37

Testament, vol. 6, Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1998), 98-99.
38
Matthew 16:24.

20
you” is important to understand what is required in redemption and sanctification

to "be washed." The past tense would inherently force the penitent transgender to

reassume their birth sex and begin living a life that demonstrates congruity

between their biology and their lifestyle. Sanctification in the new life of a person

who once was living a transgendered life would be immensely difficult,

particularly if surgical therapies were sought out prior to redemption. However, the

pastor and the church have a biblical duty to suffer with the penitent transgender;

because "once were some of you."

Conclusion

The church ought to have mercy and grace on the transgendered community

without sacrificing the requirements of holiness and sanctification outlined in

Scripture. Transgendered individuals are redeemable no matter their current

physical state; therefore, it is the responsibility of the pastor to create a local

church culture in which penitent transgendered people are ministered to through

biblical community, biblical counseling, and biblical teaching. This paper has

demonstrated the thesis by defining a clear distinction between people who suffer

from Gender Dysphoria and Transgendered persons, by explaining the inherent

sinfulness of abandoning the sexual identity gifted to humans at birth by God, and

by setting a necessity for pastoral care in the life of penitent transgendered persons.

21
 Bibliography

Aland, Kurt et al., The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition (Interlinear
with Morphology) (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993).

American Psychiatric Association. Gender Dysphoria [Fact Sheet]. 2013.

Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/.../APA_DSM-
5-Gender-Dysphoria.pdf.

A.R. Flores, J.L. Herman, G.J. Gates, & T.N.T. Brown. How Many Adults Identify
as Transgender in the United States? Los Angeles, CA: The Williams
Institute, 2016.

Branch, J. Alan. “A Review of Mark A. Yarhouse. 'Understanding Gender

Dysphoria: Navigating Transgender Issues In a Changing Culture.'.” Journal
for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 21, no. 2 (Fall 2016).

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. London:
Routledge, 1990.

Cameron, Bev, and Warren Talbot. Pastoral Care with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Intersex, and Queer People. Edited by Elizabeth Teece and
Warren Talbot. Sydney: Uniting Networks Australia, 2015.

Dellaerute, Michael. “The Church and The Transgender Issue.” Journal of Ministry
and Theology 20, no. 1 (Spring 2016).

Dhejne, C, et al. “An analysis of all applications for sex reassignment surgery in
Sweden, 1960-2010: Prevalence, incidence, and regrets.” Archives of Sexual
Behavior 43, no. 8 (2014): 1535-45.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Dsm-5. 5th ed.

Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.

Garland, Dave E. 1 Corinthians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New

Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003).

Gates, Gary J. “In U.S., More Adults Identifying as LGBT.” Gallup. January 11,
2017. http://news.gallup.com/poll/201731/lgbt-identification-
rises.aspx?version=print (accessed February 8, 2018).

22
Gibson, Bethany, and Anita Caitlin. “Care of the Child with the Desire to Change
Genders-Part 1.” Urologic Nursing 31, no. 4 (2011): 225.

Johnston, Jeff. When Transgender Issues Enter Your World. Colorado Springs:
Focus on the Fmily, 2017.

Kittel, Rudolf, and Wilhelm Rudolph. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Stuttgart:

Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.

Mohler, R Albert. We Cannot Be Silent: Speaking Truth to a Culture Redefining

Sex, Marriage, and the Very Meaning of Right and Wrong. Nashville,
Tennessee: Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2015.

New American Standard Bible. Anaheim, Calif.: Foundation Publications,

publisher for the Lockman Foundation, 1997.

Phyllis V. Pennese. “Providing Pastoral Care For the Transgender Community.,”

Gender Identity & Our Faith Communities. Human Rights Campaign
Foundation. Retrieved from
www.transfaithonline.org/fileadmin/TFexplore/Penesse-HRC-
PastoralCare.pdf.

Ringo, Peter. “Media Roles in Female-to-Male Transsexual and Transgender

Identity Formation.” International Journal of Transgenderism 6, no. 3
(2012).

Ross, Allen P. Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of the
Book of Genesis. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1998.

Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis =: Be-reshit. The Jps Torah Commentary. Philadelphia:

Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

Schreiner, Thomas R. Baker Exegetical Commentary On the New Testament. Vol.

6, Romans. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1998.

Sherez, Ahmad. “Gender Dysphoria Services: A Guide for General Practitioners

and Other Healthcare Staff.” Sexual and Relationship Therapy 28, no. 3
(2013).

23
Strachan, Owen. “Transgender Identity--Wishing Away God's Design.” Answers
in Genesis. March,
2015. https://answersingenesis.org/family/gender/transgender-identity-
wishing-away-gods-design/.

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The Nashville Statement.

2017. Retrieved from https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement.

Thomas, Rick, and Peter Saunders. “Gender Dysphoria.” CMF Files 59 (Spring
2016).

Tigay, Jeffrey H. Deuteronomy =: [devarim]. The Jps Torah Commentary.

Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996.

UK Gender Recognition Act.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/contents

Yarhouse, Mark A. Understanding Gender Dysphoria: Navigating Transgender

Issues in a Changing Culture. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, an
imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2015.

24