This past Sunday afternoon we had just completed a nice Sunday/New Year’s family dinner together with my mother and father in law, as well as my wife’s sisters and their crews when my phone rang. The person who called asked if the church had evening services and I affirmed that we did, at 5:00. He also asked if we provided transportation to services and I said we would be glad to make arrangements. He also said, “My name is ____________” (a feminine name). Does your church allow transgender people to attend?”
Admittedly, I was caught very off-guard. My mind was racing. A flood of questions went through my mind, like: What should I say? Am I compromising anything if I say yes? How should I address this person? What will the church think?
At any rate, I had around one second to process and respond. I said something to the effect of: “We allow everyone to come into our assembly.” That seemed to be an acceptable answer and no additional questions were asked regarding that matter. I did say that I would call back very soon to let him know the arrangement details. I called back and confirmed that I would pick him up around 4:35.
In the meantime, my mind continued to race. It was time to review my sermon, especially since I would be leaving extra early to pick him up, but my focus was somewhere between scattered and non-existent, and I questioned if I should continue with my plan to preach on “The Pharisee and the Tax-Collector” from Luke 18:9-14. I did end up choosing to proceed.
Picking him up went without any problem, but he was fully dressed as a woman… wearing a dress, long hair, make-up, wearing the jewelry of a woman; but his face was unmistakably masculine, along with his voice. There was no probing of my beliefs on any such issues and I certainly never felt as if this was some sort of malicious test to see how I would respond.
Everything went well when we arrived at the church building. Several had been informed of the situation to alleviate some of the shock. When we arrived at the building there was not too much time to spare, but afterwards several members introduced themselves and talked to him before we left.
During my sermon I noticed him nodding his head in affirmation on at least a few different occasions. He was certainly intent in following the lesson and did not seem to be adverse to anything that was said. One of the points I made in the lesson was that it was likely very uncommon for a tax-collector to enter the temple to pray and that something likely led to that man coming to the temple and praying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk. 18:13). Of course, Jesus was teaching in the form of a parable here (see v. 9), but something would surely cause such a person to come to the temple, right? Was it the thought of his mortality? Was it the weight of his sin that he had been bearing for so long? How could I not ask the same questions concerning the individual I brought to worship and was looking at as I preached?
During the two thirteen minute trips with this individual, that I was very nervous about, there was no conversation about LGBT things. But I learned about the death of his mother, his father, his sister and a very close friend. Two or three of these took place in the previous calendar year. The friend who died was a really good friend’s daughter he had tried to help (and get help for) who was addicted to crack cocaine. She was hit by a car and killed on I-35 last July in south Ft. Worth. You likely heard about this on the news.
Could it be that this man in our assembly started to question matters of life and eternity? Is that what brought him to us? I certainly do not pretend to know but yet something caused him to pick up the phone and make that call.
While there are so many answers I struggle with concerning these things, I do know that it was good that the tax-collector went to the temple to pray (see esp. Lk. 18:14). I also know that the only thing that has the power to save sinners is the Gospel (see Rom. 1:16). Should we choose some as being unworthy of hearing the Gospel? How can we expect them to come to repentance if we refuse to teach them? Isn’t that what the prophets did? Isn’t that what Jesus did? Jesus said, concerning another tax-collector in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Earlier in the book of Luke, Jesus was “guilty” as charged of dining with sinners, but He responded, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (5:31-32). In John 8 we have the account of the Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus for condemnation. But Jesus treated this woman with respect, and taught her to “go, and from now on sin no more” (v. 11). Don’t we want sinners to come and hear the Word of the Lord? Perhaps we should beware of having the attitude that Jonah had toward the Ninevites (see Jonah 4:1-4, 10-11).
I know that so many more things can be said concerning this issue, and I have not worked them all out in my mind, but I hope these raw thoughts will be helpful in some way to you as we seek to lead precious souls to the Lord.
Daren Schroeder