My View on Gospel-Centered Pastoral Care With Gender Dysphoria

From Thanksgiving to New Year's in 2023 I had encounters with friends after every single worship service that would go something like this:

The family dinner/gathering/reunion is going to be really different this holiday.  We have already been informed that our son/daughter/grandchild/niece/nephew/cousin's child is "transitioning" gender, has a new name and expects us to use different pronouns.  Pastor Bill, can you help me sort this out?!?

Each week and after every service, a new face and different family, but with the same basic dilema: How do we navigate the questions raised by transgenderism in our family and community?

I've been reading, praying and studying both before and since then, but this is the first time I have offered resources or comment publicly in this way.

If you read nothing else, I'd say CLICK HERE for a recent post by Dr Leonard Sax for the Institute of Family Studies.  Dr Sax is a practicing pediatrician and PhD social researcher that I have followed for years and grown to trust and appreciate.  Though his title is a distraction, I think that this is the best single piece I have seen outlining the current state of medical/social/legal research.

If you are still reading, here are two personal reflections that I will offer:

• There is not a lot of scientific/medical research on transgenderism.  Simply put, the desire and ability to preform hormone and surgical procedures like this is so new, that there have simply not been enough people and time for us to observe long-term effects.
• Recommendations are changing.  There is a lot more to say about this but for example:
• The US federal recommendations for treatment of minors was altered (very quietly I might add) in June of 2024.  CLICK HERE for a report from the NY Times. 
• Great Britian has dramatically altered their National Health Service Guidelines for treating gender dysphoria in light of the Cass Report as well.  CLICK HERE for the final report or CLICK HERE for a summary from the NY Times and CLICK HERE for a review by Rebecca MacLaughlin for the Gospel Coalition.

What that means for me as a pastor - specifically an ordained Teaching Elder in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church - is this: I need to communicate the Gospel of God's Grace to a world - I'm thinking particularly about children, parents and grandparents - that is hurting, confused and facing unique options and pressures.  No small task to both speak and be heard with Gospel grace and truth.

For example, given the 2024 change in Federal medical recommendations, there will be parents in my community who started down one path of  "gender-affirming care" for their child only to have it changed along the way.

In addition, there are all sorts of perspectives bombarding people - social media, schools, peers and more - with information of widely varied veracity.  It is easy to be lost in the noise of the moment.  It is very hard to know what terms mean to different people and what experiences or even hearsay they have been exposed to and now bring to their questions.

Therefore,

I want to be clear, kind, factual and Gospel-centered in all that I say as both a public preacher and a personal pastor.  I do believe that the Scriptures and the accumulated wisdom of the church across the ages gives believers helpful support and guidance for even new questions like those related to transgenderism.  I'd be happy to talk specifics if you like.

I am called to love and walk through life with people and to do that even when they disagree with me, or make different choices than I would recommend or are living with consequnces of decisions I could not affirm.  I am a servant of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  It seems to me, that He never strayed from His identity and mission, never compromised the truth of His Father and was always willing to engage people and share their life.

Interested In Reading More?

My advice: Plan to read a lot, talk with some people, pray a lot and go slowly as you ponder many of the questions raised by the current gender and sexuality changes in our culture.

One consistent source of helpful reflection and material for me has been the Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender directed by Dr Preston Sprinkle.  We have used their small-group material Grace & Truth with good fruit here at Harderwyk.  CLICK HERE for their website.  CLICK HERE for their Statement of Faith.

I expect to add a few more resources and thoughts on this blog in the future, but this is the place for us to start.

But I've Heard That The NLT Leaves Out Verses!?!

With a Google Search or skim through various Social Media, it is easy to find statements like:

The New Living Translation (NLT) is straight from Hell.  .  . Let's face it, the corrupters who are publishing demonic bibles are all out to make a fast buck, filthy lucre!  In order to reach the largest market base possible, they trim and water down the Scriptures as much as tolerable.  This is evil.  .  .  As further proof of corruption, Billy Graham endorses the NLT on the front cover jacket.

Friend, don't believe it.  And if it is a person telling you that and not Google, then simply smile graciously and remember to fact check everything else they ever pass along to you.

Here's the real story:

It is true that if you make a verse-by-verse comparison between the King James Verion (KJV) and virtually all 20th century versions - including New International Version (NIV) English Standard Version (ESV), New American Standard Version (NASB), Revised Standard Version (RSV) as well as the NLT - you will find several verses - typically about 16 - "missing" from the KJV to the others.

You should ask "Why is that"?  There is a perfectly good reason for the differences.

The KJV is translated from a specific Greek Manuscript called the Textus Receptus - or "Received Text" - that was assembled from Greek and Latin manuscripts, as well as references from other writings by the scholar Erasmus in the year 1516.  It was best Greek compilation of the time and figured powerfully in the Reformation.

But that was five centuries ago.  And across those five centuries, there has been a great deal of archaelogy and many additional manuscripts discovered that are actually earlier in origin than anything Erasmus had to work from.  I will say that again: Five centuries of archaelogy have discovered manuscripts that predate the sources of Textus Receptus.

The modern translations work from THOSE manuscripts - the older ones - and not Textus Receptus.  The 16 "missing verses" are simply not in the older manuscripts that have been discovered over the past five centuries.  As best we are able to tell - it was not a "xerox copy" sort of process that long ago - the extra versess in the Textus Receptus were added - whether intentionally or by scribal error, often for clarity - centuries after the manuscripts we now have.

So a more-true-to-the-facts way to express matter would be say that the KJV ADDS 16 verses to the Bible.  But take it from me, when someone insists that the modern translations have "missing verses," you had best not upset them by asking why they want a translation of the Bible with "added verses."

Two More Points

No Difference Of Import Here - Simply put, there is no aspect of the life of Jesus, the Gospel of God's Grace or message of the Bible as a whole that is lost by the "missing verses" or added by the "added verse" depending on your preference.  Everything these verse add is already clearly known by other verses - usally many other verses if it is something important - in the rest of the Textus Receptus and modern Greek manuscripts.

No One Is Hiding Anything - The differences between Textus Receptus and the modern manuscripts are all well known, discussed and open to see and deliberate.  Actually, most of the modern translations will include the differences in brackets or a footnote.  Here is an example of that based on John 5:4 from GotQuestions.org

For example, John 5:4 is included in the KJV, but in the NKJV the verse has a footnote attached explaining that it is not found in many Greek texts, the NASB includes the verse in brackets: The NIV places the verse in a footnot, so John 5:4 is "missing" the actual text.

Resources:

Why Are The Newer Translations Of The Bible Missing Verses? from GotQuestions.org

This is a helpful summary - complete with 5 minute video! - of this matter.  CLICK HERE  This is a paragraph from that post:

It is important to remember that the verses in question are of minor significance. None of them change in any way the crucial themes of the Bible, nor do they have any impact on the Bible’s doctrines—Jesus’ death and resurrection; Christ’s being the only way of salvation; and the doctrines of heaven and hell, sin and redemption, and the nature and character of God. These doctrines are preserved intact through the work of the Holy Spirit, who safeguards the Word of God for all generations. It is not a matter of the newer translations missing verses, and it is not a matter of the KJV translators adding to the Bible. It is a matter of determining, through careful research and textual science, what content was most likely part of the original manuscripts of the Bible.

Exactly Which Verses Are In Question

Here is a list of KJV verses not carried into modern translations based on differences with Textus Receptus.  You will find verse, comparison and rationale for each one.  Warning: this is pretty details and arcane, but it is good to know and see to get a sense of the serious evidence and considerations behind the differences.  CLICK HERE for that post.

My Favorite Bible Reading Plan EVER!!

I have occasionally used the YouVerion mobile app to access Bible reading plans from Bible.com for years.  They have a wide variety of plans - short and long, topical, seasonal.  The app gives you options to choose among a wide number of English translations - even setting up two parallel columns to compare as you read. Tap an icon and you can even listen to the passages read.  It is a great way to support your Bible reading goals using a smartphone, iPad or computer.

My Favorite Bible Reading Plan EVER!!

About 6 months ago I began using a reading plan produced by BibleProject.com called One Story that Leads to Jesus.  Their description:

One Story that Leads to Jesus is a plan designed by BibleProject to inspire you to read through the entire Bible in one year. This plan incorporates over 150 animated videos to engage you in the Bible’s brilliant literary design and flow of thought. Choose this one-year reading plan for an epic learning journey that helps you experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.

CLICK HERE to see the plan page.

It has been a phenomenal support to my daily Bible reading.  Each day usually begins with a helpful teaching video outlining or giving background for that particular book, character, concept or historical setting.

Then some reading - and I use both the NIV and NLT in parallel.  I can tap into cross-references and other information.

Each day closes with a Psalm - that I listen to for a change of pace.

I'm now about 2 months away from finished - it's easy and inviting to do several days at a time when my schedule permits.

How To Access and Use This Value Resource

For Smartphone or iPad or other Tablet

• Go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and install the free YouVersion Bible App + Audio by Life.Church.

In Web Browser on Your Computer

• Go to Bible.com

You will need to create your own free account to log on, personalize and then start reading on whatever device you choose.

Why Am I Using The New Living Translation (NLT) of the Bible More & More - Especially in Public Reading?

To answer my own question: Because it is a reliable, contemporary English translation from the earliest orginal language texts.  It is the work of solid Christian scholars. Finally, I think it reads well orally in public settings and facilitates understanding as I prepare to preach the text.  Worshippers at Celebration-Harderwyk will hear me reading from it more and more in that service.

These conclusions grow from my experience with the NLT over the past five years or so.  Currently, I'm about 75% through my second "Genesis-to-Revelation" reading of the NLT.  Indeed, I have grown to consider the NLT my preferred translation - especially for oral reading in public.

Please Note: The NLT Is NOT "the Living Bible" of the 1970's

As a "Jesus Revolution" high-schooler, the green Living Bible (LB) was our go-to version of the Bible.  Actually, it is better considered a paraphrase.  On the scale ranging from Word-For-Word Formal Equivalence on one side to the Thought-To-Thought Functional Equivalence on the other end, the Living Bible is very far to the Functional Equivalence side.  The NLT is a better balance between the two end-points.  Dig into the resource links below to learn more about this scale and the considerations involved in any work of translation.

The NLT is a completely different translation than my first Living Bible.  The NLT is a translation based on the original language texts where the LB began as a paraphrase for modern ears based on other English language translations.  The NLT is the careful, accountable work of a team of first-rate language scholars where the LB was more the work of a single person - Kenneth Taylor.  See the link to the Preface of the New Living Translation in the resources below to dig into the details of the NLT and you will better understand these differences.

But I've Heard That The NLT Leaves Out Verses!?!

Because I occasionally hear this as an honest question from people, I'm happy to address the concern with a full blog.  CLICK HERE for that

Keep Reading The Bible Translation You Will Read

While I am happy to share my thoughts and reasons for reading the NLT in our services, I am certainly on no crusade to change your Bible translation preferences or reading habits.  Keep reading, study and meditating through the text of whatever Bible translation you are using right now.  Perhaps consider getting a NLT to use along with or in parallel to whatever you are using.  Just keep feeding on God's Word and meeting Him in the text of the Bible.

Now, if you are not yet involved in regular reading, studying and meditating on the God's Word, the I absolutely WOULD encourage to start by using the NLT.  For all the reasons I've listed above.

And watch for my next post on a very helpful Bible reading plan by BibleProject.com that I am about to finish up.  It's been a great experience that includes helpful animated overviews and can be used on any digital device - smart phone, iPad/tablet or computer - and with any translation!  Yesterday is the perfect time to start a daily encounter with Jesus through the written word of the Bible.  So why not jump in right now?

Resources

Preface to the NLT

• This is the full preface to the NLT produced by it's publisher.  You can have free access through one of my favorite online Bible study sites: The Blue Letter Bible.  CLICK HERE

Complete Guide to Bible Versions: Comparison, History, and Philosophy of Top Bible Translations [Updated 2025]

• This is a great post on all aspects of translation with several easy to understand charts helping you connect those to specific Bible translations.  CLICK HERE for the full post.

Westminster Confession of Faith - Chapter 1 - On Scripture

• As an ordained Teaching Elder in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, I have publicly affirmed that I "sincerely receive and adopt the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Catechisms of this Church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.  Here is the first chapter - entitled Holy Scripture - of the Westminster Confession in Modern English so you can better understand my own convictions.  CLICK HERE to read and/or download the first chapter.

Praying For Muslim People Groups During Ramadan 2025

I closed the sermon yesterday at WaterShed-Harderwyk with a story about a move of God among Muslims in earthqake stricken Antioch in Syria that began in 2023.  CLICK HERE to read the entire story. 

Better yet, join me in praying each day during Ramadan - February 28 thru March 30, 2025 - for a different Muslim people group around the world.  As our Muslim neighbors around the world set aside time each day of this period to seek God, we can pray that the Holy Spirit would lead them to Jesus, the true God incarnate, and His Gospel of Grace.  CLICK HERE to find a free online daily prayer guide.  You can also CLICK HERE for a downloadable pdf of this guide for $2.50 that you can print and add to your daily prayer routine.

My favorite way of joining this World Christian Prayer Movement is through the daily use of the PrayerMate app.  I use it on my iPad to organize my daily prayer life.  For $3.00 I can have the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World sent directly there each day.  CLICK HERE to learn more about PrayerMate.  Then follow the steps in PrayerMate to subscribe to the 30 Days prayer feed.  I also suggest the FREE Heavenward daily prayer feed that gives me daily prayers by Scotty Smith.  CLICK HERE to see those online and free at TheGospelCoalition.org.  

As I mentioned Sunday, I have been following the amazing work of God in bringing Muslim people to faith in Jesus Christ during my lifetime.  CLICK HERE for a 2019 blog post of mine called Muslim People Coming To Faith In Jesus with stories and resources about that move.

And if you would like to talk more about anything I have mentioned, I would be happy to find the best time and setting for doing that.  Simply call the Harderwyk Office and they can help us find a time and way to connect.  

How You Can Be Certain That Certainity Is A Sin: Reflections on the Movie Conclave

It is a dramatic scene and central to the story of the film Conclave.  The story begins with the recent passing of the Pope, and in this scene Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes) prepares the College of Cardinals - gathered from around the world - to enter into sequestered "conclave" and choose the next Pope.  He addresses them saying:

There is one sin I have come to fear above all others: certainity.  Certainity is the great enemy of unity.  Certainity is the deadly enemy of tolerance.  Even Christ was not certain at the end - My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?  He cried out in His agony at the ninth hour on the cross.  

Our faith is a living thing precisly because it walks hand in hand with doubt.  If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith.  Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts.

CLICK HERE to see the entire speech.  The portion I quote begins around :45.

As I listened, I wanted to leap through our TV into the scene, rise and ask the Cardinal: How can you be certain that certainity is the sin to fear above all others?  I doubt your certainity on this, sir!  Here I stand!

Even in the moment it struck me that this was a great statement of the creed of expressive individualism: Nothing can be certain except your self!  A real moment of modern of chatechism right there in theaters and living rooms around the country.

But is this really a statement of faith - for it is indeed a step of faith to say with certainity that certainty is the greatest of sins! - that makes sense of the world, leading to human flourishing?  This is an important question for both myself and my unbelieving neighbors.

I graduated from an outstanding, nationally-ranked, church-related college.  The institution did a phenomenal job helping students deconstruct their "Sunday-school beliefs."  Many professors were outspokenly direct about that goal, and all were very capable and effective in their teaching.  Sadly, once our faith was deconstructed, they were rarely concerned with grounding us in a more mature Christian faith and were instead more subtle and effective in catechizing us in various expressions of what I have come to identify as "expressive individualism."  As I write elsewhere - CLICK HERE - I do not think expressive individualism is faithful either to the Gospel of God's Grace or to human flourishing even for unbelievers.

NUANCE ALERT - I do think that orthodox Christian faith gives us a reason to see the sin that often presents itself as certainity.  If I thought the Cardinal were pointing to this in his speech, I'd be all in with him.

Here is the problem that the Scriptures and our experience point out to us: When broken people - "sinners" is the classic term - are "certain" in themselves, their sin infects their certainity.  A statement can be "true" in terms of "facts," but be pursued self-righteously.  Or self-defensively.  Or self-servingly.  THAT is sin.  Make note: when anything is centered on or from the "self" it can be infected by the sin of our "self."  There is the problem that the Cardinal is close to, but pursued more deeply and in light of the Gospel.  It is one of the insights into the humman condition presented in the Scriptures.

Let me suggest that the better posture for life is to have confidence - trust, faith, belief - in someone or something greater than ourselves and even our own certainity.  It seems that this is exactly how Paul writes in Philippians 1:6:

(I am) being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Live with confidence - trust, faith, belief - in who the LORD is, what He has shown of us Himself and what He can do.

Experience - and the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scriptures and my church - has shown me that I can sometimes be wrong or unloving or confused or MANY other things like that - even when I am well-intentioned and carefully researched!  I am certain that I make mistakes, but confident that the One who is faithful, loving and true will complete His good purposes in His world and even in me.

I would suggest that the life-giving world-view comes when faith in God as He has revealed Himself in the Gospel is walking hand-in-hand with humility, rather than faith in self navigating life with doubt.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you CLICK HERE to read Value Confidence over Certainty by Randy Newman on TheGospelCoalition.org site.  You will see that the best of what I might say here originated with him and was simply applied to the movie.  His post includes several other and important steps illuminating the distinction between certainity and gospel confidence.

And Finally: I watched the movie and know it may well win an Oscar or two, but I'm not sure I would recommend it.  Save the money.  Invest time in your marriage, or with a friend or reading Scripture or just taking a walk.  I watch, listen and read things like this to better understand the world that I present the gospel to and what my neighbors are encountering, so it is helpful for me - and I hope you - in that way.  I'm not certain - pun intended - that you learn anything not alread known about the Roman Catholic church.  The surprise ending was gratituitous.  And the catechesis in "expressive individualism" was as subtle as it was thick throughout.

"Walk-Up Choir" - Think Of It Like A Trade Union

Take a look at this photo from Harderwyk's Christmas Day Service.

We call that our "Walk-Up Hallelujah Chorus."  Each year, as we get mid-way through the final Christmas Carol, everyone who would like to sing the Halleluijah Chorus makes their way into the chancel, grabs some sheet music and gets ready to sing.  It is MAGNIFICENT.  CLICK HERE to see the whole thing in a 41/2 minute YouTube clip.

At first, you might only see a spontaneous choir.  I though, see it through the lens of the Plumbers' Union.

What's that?  Yep, any sort of trade union actually, but I'm big on plumbers for this one.  So you see a choir, but  I see "apprentices," journeymen" and "craftsmen" doing what they do together.

Look inside the box in the photo and you see five faces.  Two "journeyman" singers we'll call them.  They know the trade and have done it well and with joy for years.  But you also see three young "apprentice" singers.  Those three are just learning their way, but learning in the midst of a collection of people who love what they do.  The apprentices can learn and get carried along and truly experience the "joy of the craft" before they are even able to really do it on their own.

Best of all, do you see in the box? There is a "journeyman" singer bending over to help an "apprentice" singer.  That is how the craft stays alive across generations while also improving in quality.

How do you learn to love the craft - any craft really?  By sharing it - both receiving AND giving - with a community that is supportive, accountable, learning together and focused on something bigger than themselves.

CLICK HERE for the next opportunity to be a part of our next "Walk-Up Choir" - typically the 4th Sunday of the month in Harderwyk's Celebration Service at 9 am.

And a special thanks to the several "craftsman" undergirding the whole event - especially our director Justin Rito and organist Jane Bosko.