Perspective Reassignment Exercise
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”[1]
The rapid increase in people identifying as transgender has left the church scrambling for answers and groping for a faithful response. The integration of SOGI[2] curriculum in public schools has made some uncomfortable and upset, while Generous Space has created intentional space for LGBTQI Christians and allies to affirm the journey towards living out their identities—making others uncomfortable. There are deep theological conversations to be had, but what I want to offer in this post are some thoughts towards a pastoral response to transgender individuals.
Clothe Yourself in Compassion
There is no one for whom this is an easy discussion. Even in writing this blog I feel vulnerable. Whatever perspective you currently hold, begin by inviting God to sift you. Become reacquainted with your own brokenness. Confess your fear. Let the deep love God has for you run through your being afresh. “The gospel tells us that [its] different economy is generous and bountiful.That grace is not limited, that love is not rationed, that forgiveness is not a possession. That if we have more of these things ourselves and if we practice them more, amazingly there’s more to share.”[3]Embrace the call to love all people and start with a faithful question such as: How can I fulfil the call to love transgender individuals?
Seek Understanding
Sex is determined by a person’s physiological biology whereas gender is the usual expression of that sex as determined by cultural standards. The term transgender most specifically refers to individuals who feel their gender doesn’t match their assigned sex at birth. Some cognitive psychologists suggest that sex is actually determined in the brain rather than the body while others maintain there is no difference between the male and female brain and gender is nurtured as society responds to assigned sex from birth.[4] If sexual identity a priori could be proven, it would be comparable to a person born missing a limb with a clear sense it should be there. This is how some transgender individuals describe their experience around the sex organs. Gender dysphoria is term for feelings of inconsistency between one’s sex and gender. An estimated 80% of youth who experience gender dysphoria will outgrow it[5], often settling into an identity of gay, lesbian or bisexual.
Queer theory encouraged gender fluidity with the political agenda to normalize gay, lesbian and bisexual variations in gender expression. Transgender theory can be seen as extending this work or undermining this work depending on your perspective. “In reifying gender, transgenderism gives credence to the very gender myths that lesbian and gay activists originally spurned.”[6] “The conflation of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ welds ‘female’ to ‘feminine’ and ‘male’ to ‘masculine’ so that ‘smashing the gender binary’ means not that males can be feminine, but that males must literally change to females and vice versa, creating an association between the physical sexed body and the concept of non-conformity in children’s minds.”[7] Gender reassignment surgery, in some cases, could thus be desired as a result of insufficient gender expression options. Given that brain maturation isn’t complete until age 25[8] there is concern around an increasing number of children being allowed, and even encouraged, to use hormone inhibitors, replacements and then surgical interventions before this milestone. The argument in favour of this is that the mental health of the youth will be ameliorated and they will be empowered by aligning their sex with their self-identified gender.
Intersex individuals are sometimes classified as transgender but their experience is considerably different. These individuals are part of the 1.7% of people who’s physiological makeup is non-binary at birth[9]. Currently medical professionals are still allowed to collaborate with parents to ‘decide’ which organs will be kept and which will be removed to help a child fit into a binary gender system.[10] These children have a much higher chance of experiencing gender dysphoria.
Create Space
Recognizing that people in these situations need non-judgemental pastoral care (like the rest of us!), come open to walk a journey of healing with them that may include: frustration with how God created them, how the body of Christ has rejected them, the exhaustion of trying to change something that won’t change, the loneliness that comes from constantly being misunderstood, with the possibility that they may be experiencing challenges many other people also experience—mental health challenges, histories of abuse, trauma—listen to the pain at they are sharing about. “The symptoms in adolescent girls noted in both studies are not dissimilar to the co-existing disorders observed in teenage girls with ‘sudden onset gender dysphoria’ at the time of writing: lack of confidence in, and comfort with, own body, disassociation, shame, anxiety, self-disgust, low self-esteem , depression, negative mood, eating disorders, negative body image and sense of self, self-objectification and self-harming behaviours.”[11] Don’t let someone’s transgender identity distract you from caring holistically for that person.
Create space for wide expressions of each gender.“There are infinite ways of being a girl, none of which tip you over into being a boy.”[12] The church has a history of diminishing gender roles such that there is limited encouraged expression of each gender. Celebrating the diversity of work appropriate for all people is a valuable way to create space.
Transgender individuals likely share the common questions of this age, “How can we recover a sense of community? How can we be saved from loneliness? How can we connect?”[13] Offering a sense of belonging, both by showing up for them and receiving from them, nurtures belonging. Making room for the transgender individual is also making room for those who love them. In talking about the LGBTQI community, Carol Howard Merritt says “if churches are going to minister to people in their twenties and thirties, we will look for ways to make space for them, their friends, and their relatives. It is not necessary that everyone in our denomination agree with them, but it is necessary that congregations make room for differing opinions.”[14]
A pastor can further create room by intentionally highlighting the diversity already present in scripture. Men and women are warriors, prophets, national leaders, nurturers and healers to name but a few. The Ethiopian Eunuch is sought by the Holy Spirit to become a member of the body of Christ. If transgender people can hear themselves in God’s story there is hope that they might feel loved.
Keep Listening
“Sometimes people find it very hard to hear what we are saying because they have a projection of who they think we are and I think we need to understand that…all of this can make it very hard for people to hear us when we try to talk about the love of God and bear witness to the truths of the gospel”[15] As pastoral people, we can’t ignore the historical relationship between the church and the transgender community which has caused great suffering. We must now be ready to listen first. “Listening builds trust and relationships…often listening to someone else is the only possible way to get [others] to listen to you.”[16] Listening well “makes you better able to actually learn early from a changing context, because it knocks you out of your own perspective and opens you to new data, allowing you to see new patterns.”[17]“The inclusive agenda of the Holy Spirit is uncomfortable and unsettling at times. When we welcome others in they change who we are.”[18]
[2] SOGI stands for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and is a Canadian curriculum supplement for students in K-12.
[3] Emma Percy, “LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019,” LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019 (October 1, 2019).
[4] Heather Brunskell-Evans, “Gendered Mis-Intelligence: The Fabrication of ‘The Transgendered Child” Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 48. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[5] Stephanie Davies-Arai, “The Transgender Experiment on Children,”Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 31. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[6] Murray 2017 as quoted by Heather Brunskell-Evans, “Gendered Mis-Intelligence: The Fabrication of ‘The Transgendered Child” Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 45. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[7] Stephanie Davies-Arai, “The Transgender Experiment on Children,”Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 26. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[8] Stephanie Davies-Arai, “The Transgender Experiment on Children,”Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 27. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[9] Heather Brunskell-Evans, “Gendered Mis-Intelligence: The Fabrication of ‘The Transgendered Child” Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 43. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[10] “Understanding Intersex and Transgender Communities,” Understanding Intersex and Transgender Communities (Sudbury, MA: InterAct, 2016))
[11] Stephanie Davies-Arai, “The Transgender Experiment on Children,”Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 28. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[12] Stephanie Davies-Arai, “The Transgender Experiment on Children,”Transgender Children and Young People : Born in Your Own Body, edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans, and Michele Moore, (Cambridge Scholars Publisher: 2018). 28. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgefox/detail.action?docID=5351368.
[13] Emma Percy, “LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019,” LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019 (October 1, 2019).
[14] Carol Howard Merritt, Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation. (Virginia: The Alban Institute, 2007.) 72.
[15] Emma Percy, “LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019,” LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019 (October 1, 2019).
[16] Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston, Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders. (Stanford University Press: California, 2015.) 73.
[17] Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston, Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders. (California: Stanford University Press, 2015.) 73.
[18] Emma Percy, “LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019,” LGP London/Oxford Advance 2019 (October 1, 2019).
About the Author
Jenn Burnett
Jenn is lead pastor at The Well church in Kelowna. She longs to see the body of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit and contending for unity across difference. She also loves rugby, the outdoors, the colour orange and the chaos that goes with raising 4 kids.6 responses to “Perspective Reassignment Exercise”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Jenn,
Thanks for taking the effort to outline a very reasonable and practical pastoral response. Well done!
Love these practical and scriptural applications Jenn. Your church is very lucky to have your pastoral leadership!
Good wisdom, Jenn. You have a healthy and comprehensive pastoral approach. Where I believe we must get proactive is when it comes to the activists promoting something regarding children. This isn’t a political matter, its a personal one. I appreciate your shepherd heart!
I loved your outline, Jen. It provides an intentional and pastoral way to approach this topic. What made you decide to structure your blog post in this way?
Thank you Jenn, I appreciate reading through your post, this is a very good approach of extending grace to those dealing with transgender issues.
Hi Jenn. I love the “belonging before believing” approach. Your last sentence was “When we welcome others in they change who we are.” In your thinking/research is there any room for turning that around as well — we changing others? I could be totally way off for even asking, but are you of the opinion that there are is a legitimate condition as trans —- contra Brunksell-Evans and Moore?