Parent Resources

TALKING TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT GENDER AND SEXUALITY

June in Canada can bring a mix of emotions. While it’s the first month of summer and the last month of school, for over 20 years in the West it has also been labeled as “Pride Month.” With celebrations in major cities, endorsements from virtually every public servant, and an education corpus that is firmly rooted in our public schools, it can seem daunting to Christian parents to address important issues within their homes. That which is celebrated, taught, and embraced in the broader culture stands in increasingly bold defiance to the Word of God. As a church believing in the authority of God’s Word, we hold that humanity has been created in the image of God as both male and female. This distinction in gender is both real and inextricably linked to our material bodies, and as such, sexual identity and expression are also to be fixed in relation to God’s gift of gender to the individual person. For a more thorough articulation of our beliefs, please see Hope Bible Church’s Statement on Gender and Sexuality.

As you speak to the children in your life this month - be they in private, public, or home-schooling environments - we would encourage you to continue to dive deeper into the Word of God, and allow the Lord to lead your family in His timeless and unerring truths.

General Principles From God’s Word

1. Do Not Be Afraid

Remember always that the Lord is in control of his world. The events of the last 20 years and indeed of all history have been carefully orchestrated and organized by One person. God alone is in control and no king, no prime minister, no teacher, no agenda, no interest groups, or administrations can move our sovereign and omnipotent God from his perfectly unfolding plan in history. Rather than being promised a life of ease, free from persecution and difficulty, the Christian follows the Lord into hardship, bearing witness to the hope that is within him or her. As he has done countless times throughout history, we can trust that God will use opposition to carry forward his great aims of advancing the Kingdom of God. If this was not God’s plan, we wouldn’t be seeing it, because God’s purposes are never frustrated. Don’t be afraid, God is in control.

2. Focus on the Mission

Remember that it is only the message of Jesus that can sway a culture to God. If we have any hope as Christians for seeing reform, that hope must reside in our confidence in the life-transforming work of Jesus. Petitioning schools, writing leaders, posting on social media can raise awareness, but they will never replace the Holy Spirit and his work in completely upending a soul for Jesus. This is not to say that the Christian should be socially paralyzed, but rather to call us to remember that our energies are better placed in sharing Christ. No one has ever come to Christ through a hate-laced post on facebook, but millions and millions have come to saving faith through the simple gospel. Remember always that it is only the Gospel message that can transform a culture.

3. Speak with kindness, patience, and love.

It could be a frustrating thing to watch culture move faster and faster away from any semblance of Christian ethic and behavior. To be sure, within the 20th century one doesn’t need to look far to see the abuses of power within so-called Christian circles, but much good also resulted. Within this online age, we’re seeing cultural shifts at such a pace, and this really is no longer the world we as parents grew up in. In interacting with others this month, be mindful not just of the message of hope you carry, but also the way the message is delivered. Just as the Lord can harness evil in this world for his purposes, so too Satan can use this opposition to feed into your own impatience, and anger. Speak with kindness, patience, and love.

Additional Resources

Books:

Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality
“Starting at a young age, kids are being fed damaging misinformation about sexuality, gender identity, and human biology. As a parent, it’s up to you to help your children understand God’s truth about these integral concepts in the face of the candy-coated lies that saturate today’s world.”

Reviewed here: Help! My Kids Are Being Taught Unbiblical Views on Sexuality by Jen Oshman

Articles:

5 Foundations That Lead to Compromise on Sexual Ethics, by Brett McCracken

“If we ignore, dismiss, or question what Scripture says about sex and identity, it naturally leads to further and deeper questioning of Scripture’s authority and an ever shakier faith. But more and more Christians—even those steeped in Scripture and raised in the church from a young age—are making this move. Why?”

When Homosexuality Comes Home: Three Lessons for Engaging Loved Ones, by Josh Blount

“When the cultural conversation becomes personal, bringing discussions to the dinner table that once seemed unthinkable, what does faithfulness to our Lord require?”

How Can I Protect My Child from State Indoctrination? by John Piper

“Atheistic schools give children a secular education and must even teach our children LGBTQ as a positive norm. In such a country, Pastor John, how should we parent?”

Boys Cannot Be Girls: How Words of God Become Hate Speech, by Sharon James

“The idea that we have a ‘gender identity’ that may be different from our biological sex is not based on science.”