A pastor I respect came out to her colleagues after decades of wrestling with gender dysphoria while, through grace, becoming a highly-regarded teacher and preacher of Jesus’ refusal to marginalize people. Her colleagues booted her, required her silence, then let the news leak.
That was months ago. In response, she came out on her blog with a candor that took great care to be sensitive to the folks in the pews. She got thousands of responses, some nasty, some bewildered and sad, some sympathetic.
Interestingly, the worst were not from the pews but from the colleagues. Instead of real leadership, they displayed the default position of refusing to imagine themselves burdened with gender dysphoria and saved by the miracle of transition.
When leadership fails, the grassroots, who have secretly got family members with gender dysphoria, become leaders themselves. And so we get a new generation of religious leaders who do it better.
Worth praying for, don’t you think?
Lynn Skinner says
Laura ~
What a beautiful way to inspire us all to offer spiritual and social support to those who have risked so much to simply live an authentic life!
True leadership comes from the the heart - not the ego. Collective leadership comes from that sacred meadow of silence, where true hearts are listening to each other with deep reverence, compassion and humanity.
Thank you for your insights, as always.
Kendra says
Dr. Laura - I am always amazed at the way you provoke thoughtful introspection through warmth,gentleness and grace. Two words that really stuck out for me were the “miracle” of transitioning and the statement, “we get a new generation of religious leaders who do it better.” While, this puts healing and understanding among the leaders as being in the future, it does put the present day leaders on notice.