Pastorally supporting Christians experiencing
gender incongruence

Rob introduces us to the transgender experience. This longer form presentation runs for 59 minutes. You can purchase a license to watch Rob's presentation here.

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Theology

Pastoral Guidelines

In considering how to help our brothers and sisters in Christ who experience gender identity issues, we take into account that –

All those who have faith in Christ are loved by God and belong to the body of Christ, including those whose personal trials and afflictions in this life include gender identity issues or gender dysphoria.
The biologically-based binary distinctions of male and female are part of the creation that God described as good and so are to be embraced and guarded in the lives of Christian men and women respectively, and expressed in culturally appropriate ways that conform with Scripture.
The reality and intensity of gender incongruence is something we acknowledge as part of the disruption of the world following the first sin. None of us is immune from the brokenness of the world, though we may experience it in different ways, and all of us need God’s compassion and his rescue from sin and its consequences that comes only in Christ.
God gives to his people the resources necessary to live faithfully as a disciple of Christ in the midst of our brokenness, including his word, his Spirit, and the loving fellowship of his people.
God has compassion on the struggling and vulnerable, and is able to bring healing to the experience of gender incongruence, however in his sovereign wisdom, that healing might not be fully experienced in this life.
The promise of the gospel is that all who trust in Christ are assured of existential peace and wholeness in the resurrection life of the new creation.

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A Word for Christian Individuals

Pastoral Guidelines

Believers in Christ who experience this issue are encouraged to consider the following –

While gender dysphoria may be a lifelong battle for you, God’s word declares that all those who have faith in Christ are loved by God and belong to the body of Christ, and that nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Fix your eyes on Jesus, and look forward to wholeness and relief from suffering and temptation in the new creation.
Seek options that maintain the integrity of your physical and mental unity, and which honour and preserve the maleness or femaleness of the body God has given you.
Seek regular Christian fellowship.
Share your struggles with some mature Christian people so you can receive Christian compassion and support, as well as accountability and encouragement.
God desires your wholeness and wellbeing, and he will be patient with you, and his grace will sustain you.

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A Word for Churches

Pastoral Guidelines

Churches, Organisations, Schools and individual Christians who care for people who experience gender identity issues and dysphoria can show this love by –

Remaining faithful to the teaching of the Bible, including upholding the goodness of God’s design of male and female.
Ensuring that churches, organisations, schools and other persons or parties are adequately informed about gender identity issues and dysphoria, and the relevant teaching of the Bible.
Showing compassion, active love, care, and support even though you may disagree with the choices or behaviour of those for whom you are caring.
Being patient and sensitive to a person’s needs, listening carefully to their experiences, and seeking to alleviate their distress; recognising that vulnerable persons require specific approaches to care.
Seeking to provide an environment that does not exacerbate the person’s distress.
Being committed to pray for the person, including their physical and psychological wellbeing.
Praying for the person's salvation (if they are not a Christian).
Rejecting all bullying, ridicule, mistreatment, and abuse of gender non-conforming people.
Avoiding rigid and unbiblical gender stereotypes.
Pursuing and affirming evidence-based pathways for treatment, which are consistent with Scripture.
Differentiating between compassion for the person, including an understanding of the distress of their situation or condition, and agreeing with, celebrating, or validating any treatment protocol for transition.