Transforming: Updated and Expanded Edition with Study Guide: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians

What a powerful read! Clear, compelling, and profoundly moving, this book should be on the shelf of every pastor, every parent, and every Christian of good conscience who wants to engage the conversation around gender and sexuality with integrity. With the patience of a teacher and the humility of a fellow traveler, Austen Hartke carefully unpacks the terminology, sociological studies, and biblical and theological perspectives that most impact transgender Christians, and he combines them with compelling personal stories—including his own—to point us toward truth. It’s rare to find a book that manages to be this intellectually rigorous and this readable at the same time. But then, Austen Hartke is a rare talent, one we are so blessed to call part of the body of Christ.

—Rachel Held Evans†, author of Searching for Sunday and Inspired

"Far too often in the conversations at the intersections of LGBT+ identity and Christian faith, the trans community has been ignored. Now, with stunning clarity, scholarly insight, and extraordinary vulnerability, Austen Hartke explores trans identity through the lens of Scripture in a poignant and accessible way that challenges, convicts, and inspires everyone to lean more fully into their God-created identity. This resource challenges false narratives about gender so often promoted in nonaffirming spaces and offers a richly biblical path forward in our understanding and embrace of trans individuals into the life of the church. Transforming is truly a game changer and one of the most important theological books to have been written in recent memory."

—Brandan Robertson, pastor, activist, and author of Filled to Be Emptied: The Path to Liberation for Privileged People

Austen Hartke brings such compassion, grace, and love to his ministry and advocacy. In this timely book, he gives the church a wonderful gift by amplifying the diverse voices of transgender Christians. He also issues an important, much-needed invitation, calling us all to faithful reexamination of what Scripture has to say about identity, gender, and community.

—Jeff Chu, author of Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America

Austen Hartke has become a major interpreter of transgender Christian reality. This book will be recognized as a very important early contribution to an essential conversation, with so much at stake for the precious, vulnerable people whose well-being should be at the center of Christian concern.

—David P. Gushee, author of After Evangelicalism and Still Christian

"The authentic, intimate stories of transgender Christians in this book unveil an image of the divine that is not monolithic but rather wonderfully multifaceted. By highlighting these stories as an important part of the trajectory of Christianity, Transforming reveals a truth about the body of Christ: that it is incomplete without the inclusion of God’s transgender children. This is a seminal book that must be read by anyone seeking to understand what it really means to be the church."

—David and Constantino Khalaf, authors of Modern Kinship: A Queer Guide to Christian Marriage

For people who are trans or nonbinary people, the Bible can sometimes feel like a weapon that is used against us. At the same time, for those of us who are Christians, the Bible is utterly important to our faith. So what’s a trans Christian, or their friends and allies, to do? Austen Hartke’s book answers that question. Hartke combines careful biblical exegesis with helpful education around gender and gender identity, all wrapped in a conversational tone and packed with practical advice. This book will be a must-read for trans Christians, pastors, lay leaders, parents, and all who believe in God’s creative and transforming love.

—E. Carrington Heath, Senior Pastor, Congregational Church (UCC), Exeter, New Hampshire, and author of Called Out: 100 Devotions for LGBTQ Christians

"Hartke’s Transforming is an important work of understanding, compassion, and storytelling. Hartke not only possesses great theological and biblical knowledge but has a deeply compassionate and conversational approach to a topic that is hard for many in the church. Not only will trans Christians find their own struggles reflected in these pages, but parents, allies, and people wishing to understand and know God’s transformative story for all God’s people will find a safe home in this book."

—Dianna Anderson, author of Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity and Problematic: How Toxic Callout Culture Is Destroying Feminism

I am encouraged by brave individuals who have challenged old, harmful interpretations of Scripture in favor of a more loving and inclusive Christianity that more fully reflects our Jesus. Through story and Scripture, Hartke does just that, sharing the pain of exclusion and the joy of following God to becoming more fully himself. This is an important read for any Christian who believes in celebrating the diversity of creation and the value of all people.

—Rachel Murr, author of Unnatural: Spiritual Resiliency in Queer Christian Women

"In Transforming, Austen Hartke makes a vital contribution to theologies both queer and Christian. This book will be invaluable to anyone seeking to understand trans lives and show respect to trans people. But Hartke is up to something more, something important: Hartke wants dialogue to take place among Christians, and he wants trans voices to be recognized as authoritative in that conversation. Hartke manages to engage evangelical perspectives respectfully, without sinking into apologetics. The trans voices in this book speak boldly, engaging Christian tradition and Scripture with refreshing insight. On its face, Transforming invites readers to perceive the marvel of trans identity; but it is also a powerful call to perceive anew what is surprising and life-giving in an authentic read of Christian faith."

—Elizabeth M. Edman, author of Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know about Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity

There has been need for a book by a young transgender Christian. Seminary-trained transgender man Austen Hartke is the right person to answer the call and fill the need. Hartke begins his book with basic terminology and expands to scriptural support for transgender persons not just being in the church, hiding unnamed in the back row, but serving in openness and authenticity. Whether you do not know any or know many transgender people of faith, you’ll learn from Hartke’s accessible, humble, and informative writing.

—Kathy Baldock, Executive Director, Canyonwalker Connections, Reno, Nevada

"Hartke’s Transforming is gentle but uncompromising, humble but smart, just as I have come to know Hartke to be. The power of this book is that it has a clear pastoral heart while resting on a foundation of helpful scholarship."

—Jared Byas, cohost of The Bible for Normal People and author of Love Matters More

"Transforming is a foundational text for pastors and congregations seeking to authentically welcome and affirm transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people in their ministry. The study guide in the back of the book invites readers to embody what they’ve learned in approachable and practical ways."

—Court VonLindern, NextGen & Inclusiveness Ministries, Mountain Sky Conference of The United Methodist Church

Transforming

Updated and Expanded Edition

with Study Guide

Transforming

The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians

Updated and Expanded Edition with Study Guide

Austen Hartke

© 2018, 2023 Austen Hartke

Foreword © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press

Foreword to new edition © 2023 Jamie Bruesehoff and Rebekah Bruesehoff

Updated and Expanded Edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32—10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Book design by Drew Stevens

Cover design by Allison Taylor

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hartke, Austen, author.

Title: Transforming : the Bible and the lives of transgender Christians / Austen Hartke.

Description: Updated and expanded edition. | Louisville, Kentucky : Westminster John Knox Press, [2023] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: Offers insight into Scriptures often used to enforce a fixed and binary conception of gender and highlights the narratives of both gender-expansive biblical characters and transgender Christians living today. This new, expanded edition includes even more tools to equip churches, pastors, and allies to better welcome and care for their trans and nonbinary neighbors— Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022058855 (print) | LCCN 2022058856 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664267865 (paperback) | ISBN 9781646983100 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Gender nonconformity—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Christian transgender people—Religious life.

Classification: LCC BR115.T76 H37 2023 (print) | LCC BR115.T76 (ebook) | DDC 261.8/35768—dc23/eng/20230103

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022058855

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022058856

Most Westminster John Knox Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special-interest groups. For more information, please e-mail [email protected].

For every trans Christian who feels alone;

for every parent caught between a rock and a hard place;

for every church and every ministry professional committed to holding the door open—

this book is for you.

Contents

Foreword to the New Edition by Rebekah Bruesehoff and Jamie Bruesehoff

Foreword to the First Edition by Matthew Vines

Introduction: Did God Make a Mistake?

Part One

 1. Standing on the Edge

 2. The Beginner’s Guide to Gender

 3. Sin, Sickness, or Specialty?

Part Two

 4. And God Said, Let There Be Marshes

 5. Biblical Culture Shock

 6. What’s My Name Again?

 7. God Breaks the Rules to Get You In

 8. All the Best Disciples Are Eunuchs

 9. Nothing Can Prevent Me

10. Even Jesus Had a Body

11. Life beyond Apologetics

12. Does Gender Matter Anymore?

Conclusion: The Trans-Affirming Toolbox

Afterword: Spiritual Care for Gender-Expansive Christians: A Conversation with Professor Susannah Cornwall

Small Group Study Guide

Sermon Series Guide

Acknowledgments

Notes

Further Reading

Foreword to the New Edition

Being transgender in the church, especially as a young person, can be scary. The people doing the most harm to the transgender community are overwhelmingly people of faith. They’re so loud that it’s easy to think all Christians think that way, but that’s just not true. I want people to know that being transgender and being Christian are not mutually exclusive. Because so much of what we hear in the world today pits these two communities against each other, it can feel really weird to be part of both of them.

I am transgender, and I am Christian. I know not all churches are good and safe places, but I wish more people knew that there are churches that affirm and celebrate the beautiful diversity of God’s creation, including transgender people. When you find one of those churches, that’s when you finally feel how good it can be to be part of a community that sees you and loves you both as a transgender person and as a Christian: a community where you truly belong.

I’ve been really lucky to be a part of that kind of community all my life. My dad is a pastor, and my mom is a church professional. Together, they have four degrees in religion. For them, it was never a question of whether loving and supporting me was the right thing to do. They saw the difference in me when I stopped pretending to be someone else and stepped into who God made me to be. My church community saw that too. Knowing me helped them move from thinking about transgender people as an issue to seeing us as human beings. I was just a little girl in a flowery purple dress, twirling on the church lawn. After that, my parents did a lot of work to help educate the congregation about what it means to be transgender and what that means for the church. It took time, but two years after I transitioned, on the tenth anniversary of my baptism, we gathered with our congregation, my godparents, and my family to bless me and my forever name. My grandfather, who baptized me as a baby, presided over the service. Being loved and supported so deeply by the people around me is what allows me to thrive.

That’s not to say it was all sunshine and rainbows. It still isn’t today. I have been excluded from some communities because of who I am. Some of the most hurtful and hateful things said about and to my family come from people of faith. They threaten to hurt me or my parents or tell us we’re going to hell, in the name of Jesus. It seems about as unchristian as you can get, but I continue to find hope in the church.

When I was eleven years old, I spoke at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s 2018 Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas. I stood on stage in front of 31,000 high school youth and their adult leaders and shared my story as a transgender person, and my hope for the church and the world. It felt incredible to know that my church cared enough about kids like me to put me on that stage, but it was even better to see the reactions of the people who were there and hear the stories that came after. I heard about youth who saw themselves celebrated in the church for the first time, young people who came out to their families and congregations, and pastors who came out to their youth groups. The ripples of impact that went out from that day continue to give me hope that people of faith can do this work and evolve their understanding just as they embraced the story of a transgender young person like me through the lens of Christianity. I don’t have to give up part of who I am. I can be both transgender and Christian.

In 2021, I was confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As a confirmed member of the church, I can vote on important matters, and my presence counts like that of every other adult in the room. It meant a lot to me to be confirmed in a church that sees me for who God made me to be, that proclaims that I am a called and claimed child of God, and that lifts up my voice as a transgender young person. Now my hope is that we can build a church and world where all transgender people can feel safe and loved.

REBEKAH BRUESEHOFF

Our daughter Rebekah shows us what is possible when a transgender young person is surrounded by love, affirmation, and celebration long before they ever hear any messages to the contrary. We work with a top-notch team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for Rebekah’s gender-related care. She was eight years old for her first appointment at the Gender Clinic, where we began building relationships with their psychologists and social workers, years before hormones or any other treatments would be introduced. Dr. Hawkins, a psychologist and codirector at the clinic, spent some time talking to me and my husband, and then she spent some time with Rebekah. When she came back after talking with Rebekah, Dr. Hawkins confessed she was a little teary-eyed. Dr. Hawkins had asked Rebekah how she might explain what it means to be transgender to someone who didn’t understand. Rebekah’s answer was simple and honest: Being transgender means being who God made me to be.

Rebekah has been told from the very beginning of her gender journey that she is a called and claimed child of God, created to be exactly who she knows herself to be. That’s her foundation. When people tell her that God doesn’t make mistakes, she says, I know. I’m not a mistake. Of course, over time Rebekah has learned the ugly truth about the church’s past and present when it comes to transgender people. She’s seen the harm that people of faith continue to do to people like her, personally and politically. But because she is so secure in her identity and in her faith in the God that created her, she’s able to hope and work for a world where that’s not the case any longer. She’s helped me find that hope too.

When Rebekah transitioned, the church was the place my husband and I most feared. We weren’t afraid of God. We were afraid of human beings and of the institution to which they belonged. Rebekah’s dad was the pastor of a small congregation in a rural, conservative area. While we knew there was room in our denomination for the affirmation and celebration of LGBTQIA+ identities, we didn’t know how our congregation would respond. The first time Rebekah showed up at church as herself, one parishioner found my husband afterward and said, I don’t really understand this whole transgender thing. But she used to hide behind you and refuse to say ‘Hi’ to me on Sunday mornings. Today, she ran up to me, twirled in her dress, and gave me a high five. What more is there to know? By being herself and by showing up as God created her to be, Rebekah opens hearts and changes minds in a way I never imagined possible. That’s true of every transgender person I’ve ever met. That’s where I find hope.

Of course, there is a lot more to know, but we in the church don’t have to have all the answers. Things in our congregation weren’t perfect all at once, but people learned and grew alongside us. There will be mistakes and missteps. We have to learn and do the work, but there is grace for the journey. First and foremost, the church must understand and unequivocally proclaim that transgender people are whole and holy parts of the body of Christ. That’s where this book and Austen Hartke come in. I can’t think of a better place to start as we seek to understand what it means to be transgender and Christian, what the Bible says, and how it can inform our relationships and our ministries.

To some people, Rebekah’s experience of being loved, supported, and affirmed as a transgender young person of faith seems like an anomaly, but she’s not alone. There are families and congregations just like ours in communities all over the country. These families and congregations are loving and affirming the transgender young people in their midst, not in spite of their faith, but because of it. Transgender young people need those congregations. Families need pastors who can walk with them on this journey. Our communities are richer and the body of Christ is more fully present when transgender people are a part of them. I have the deepest gratitude to Austen for writing this book and to you for reading it. Together, we can make the church a safer and more welcoming place for all God’s children.

JAMIE BRUESEHOFF

January 2022

Foreword to the First Edition

This book is a gift to the church, and it couldn’t come at a more urgent time.

As more transgender people have come out in recent years, many cisgender people like me have begun to recognize the daunting scale of discrimination and hostility that trans people have to face every day. It’s not overstating the matter to say that our society’s mistreatment of transgender people is an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

According to the landmark National Transgender Discrimination Survey published in 2014, in the United States, 41 percent of transgender adults have attempted suicide. Just think about that: forty-one percent. (The overall rate for the general population is 1.6 percent.) But as horrifying as that statistic is, it’s not surprising in light of these other numbers: 90 percent of transgender people have experienced harassment or discrimination at work, 57 percent have experienced significant family rejection, 26 percent have been fired for who they are, and 19 percent have experienced homelessness because of their gender identity. In recent years, too, the number of transgender people who have been murdered has gone up, and transgender women of color are usually the victims of these widely ignored attacks.

Where has the church been amidst this barrage of harassment, discrimination, and violence against transgender and gender-nonconforming people? All too often, the church has been part of the problem. For many transgender people, some of the most painful rejection they’ve experienced has been in church. After being mocked and bullied in school, they’ve been told by their pastors on Sunday that who they are at a fundamental level is a disgrace to God. Unless they can change something that cannot be changed, transgender people are frequently told that there is no place for them among God’s people, and a few verses from Scripture are casually deployed as tools of exclusion by those who’ve barely gotten to know the people they’re excluding.

In the face of that kind of hostility, it would be perfectly defensible for transgender people to want nothing to do with Christianity—and indeed, if Jesus were here, I think he’d be turning over tables to protest the church’s inhumane treatment of them. But that only makes the faith and testimonies of transgender Christians all the more powerful. I’ve met faithful transgender Christians all over the world, from Mississippi to Minnesota and as far away as Budapest. I’ve been inspired by their stories, and I’ve grown and changed as a result of them. I’ve also learned a great deal about theology and biblical interpretation from transgender Christians, and in this book you’ll get to learn from one of the best teachers I know.

Austen Hartke is an ideal person to write this profoundly important book. I first got to know Austen a few years back through his wonderful YouTube series Transgender and Christian, where he breaks down theological issues related to gender identity with grace, warmth, and expert skill. A graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies and the winner of the 2014 John Milton Prize in Old Testament Writing from Luther Seminary, Austen has a keen theological mind and an infectious love for Scripture. He’s taught at The Reformation Project’s conferences, and I’ve seen firsthand how his work has helped countless transgender people reconcile their faith and their gender identity.

But as powerful as Austen’s own story is, he isn’t just interested in letting you learn more about him. Austen has a huge heart for other transgender people, and in this book he shares with you the stories of other extraordinary transgender Christians, like the Reverend M Jade Kaiser, a nonbinary believer, and Nicole Garcia, a trans Latina minister. Austen is passionate about amplifying the voices of trans people of color, trans women, nonbinary people, and others who experience multiple layers of marginalization in the church. That commitment shapes and enriches every page of his book.

I have a story to share about Austen that will show you some of his character and heart for others. When I was in Budapest recently, I spent an evening with about twenty LGBTQ Christians and allies. One young man who came that night had recently come out as transgender. He told me he’d found Austen’s work online and that it had helped him in his journey as a transgender Christian. But even more than that, Austen had actually struck up a friendship with this man, answering his messages and going out of his way to provide encouragement and support to him from halfway across the world. This trans Christian expressed his amazement to me that Austen, an American with a growing platform and reputation, would take the time to befriend and support someone who was coming out as far away as Hungary. I was thrilled for him, but not surprised. That’s just who Austen is.

It’s out of that same servant’s heart that