As a preacher of God’s Word, Pastor Greg Laurie says it is a real challenge to reach today’s culture. And, he says, one of the biggest hurdles he and his co-pastors must overcome when trying to win young adults to Jesus is the transgenderism issue that has enveloped not only this nation, but the entire globe.
Laurie says it is heart wrenching to see the enemy lure today’s youth down that path so easily and to turn them away from the truth.
“My heart goes out to impressionable young people, because many times adults are pushing this on little children,” Laurie says. “The whole transgender thing is affecting the way so many people think today, especially Gen Z.
“This is America. We have freedoms in this nation. There are privileges, but as believers, there are responsibilities. And we need to speak up before we completely lose our kids. … This is a war. The question is not are we going to be in this spiritual war, but are we going to win or lose this spiritual war.”
But more than a spiritual war, Laurie says, it’s something that most of today’s youth simply don’t comprehend—yet.
“I find this outrageous. It’s so outrageous that some would even say it’s wicked with these minds that have not fully formed yet and this issue that’s confusing them. But again, my heart goes out to these kids.
“You know what I think it really comes down to? I think it’s all a search for God. It’s a search for meaning. This generation is searching for God and being given wrong answers. They think something will fix this. If I have this surgery, it will be fixed. If I use this drug, it will be fixed. If I have this experience, it will be fixed. It’s not a search for something but a search for someone, and that someone is God.”
One of Laurie’s favorite scenes from the “Jesus Revolution” movie, which is partly about his life and his journey to Christ, is when Lonnie Frisbee, played by Jonathan Roumie, meets Chuck Smith, played by Kelsey Grammer, for the first time in Chuck’s kitchen.
“Chuck’s trying to figure out the whole hippie culture and kids using drugs and the whole free love thing and all,” Laurie says. “Lonnie says, ‘Chuck, it’s a search. A search for God.'”
But, Laurie says, today’s youth aren’t given the right tool—the Bible—to diligently search for God. And that makes his job so much more difficult.
“There was once a time when you could assume most people had a general idea of the Bible and you referenced Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, Noah and his ark or even Jesus Christ, they would have a sense of what or who you were referring to. Not anymore,” Laurie says.
“People are largely oblivious to the Bible, not only as God’s Word, but even as great literature. The obsession of some to implement the ‘separation of church and state’ has contributed to the illiteracy concerning God’s Word.
“When I present the gospel today—especially to young people—I can no longer assume that they understand what I mean when I say something along the lines of ‘You need to repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus and become His disciple.’ They might wonder what it means to repent, or even what sin is.”
Today’s youth, even from their elementary school years, have been taught by their respective institutions that not only isn’t there anything wrong with transgenderism, but it’s normal and that you can be anything you want, a man or a woman, despite your biological sex.
Transgenderism has become an accepted ideology in America, and those who support it not only flaunt it but tell conservatives that they must confirm it or be condemned.
“But what is transgender? How do they define that?” Laurie asks. “It’s someone whose gender they identify with differs from what they were assigned at birth. So, when you are questioning your identity, they call this gender dysphoria. Maybe I’m a man, but yet I was born as a woman. No, no, you’re a man, you’re a woman, there are no little boys that were meant to be girls and no little girls that were meant to be little boys. God created you as you are.
“You might say, well, ‘Greg, that’s just your opinion.’ No, actually it isn’t. Because my opinion isn’t any more important than your opinion. It’s God’s opinion, and that’s all that matters. Genesis 5:2 says He created them male and female and blessed them, and named them mankind when they were created. So, this is God’s plan no matter how you choose to identify it really doesn’t change anything.”
So, what are we as Christians to do about this infectious lie the enemy has presented to our children?
“Our challenge as believers in reaching this generation is to make sense without compromising our message,” Laurie says. “The gospel that the apostles delivered in the first century is still the one being shared today.
“But still, we need to adapt and become, as Paul said, ‘all things to all men.’ Let’s reach people, but stand our ground and hold to our principles as followers of Jesus. When Jesus was with sinners separated from God, they did not stay that way for long. He confronted the woman at the well about her sin. Sure, He loved her, but He pointed out she was living in sin with a man at present. She also came to faith after that.
“Yes, Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery, but it was only after she called Him ‘Lord,’ and then He said to her, ‘Go and sin no more.’ Jesus was around sinners not to conform—or ‘hang out’—but to transform. So, let’s work on building a bridge to our lost world, not burning one. As the same time, let’s not lower our standards in order to extend our reach.” {eoa}
Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
