December 9, 2024
*Editor’s Note: When, if ever, should a church take a public stance over local legislation? Recently, the leaders of Harpeth Christian Church in Franklin, TN (located just outside Nashville by the Harpeth River) had a tough decision to make. Would they stake a position regarding a Tennessee law banning gender-transition treatments for minors? They all agreed that the law was helpful and good, but when the law was challenged by the Biden Administration—with oral arguments by both sides presented to the Supreme Court last Wednesday—would the church leadership say anything to the church in support of the law? Is it wise for churches to wade into political debates, and under what circumstances? Many of us will face similar dilemmas in our own church contexts. To help us navigate such dilemmas, here is a Q&A with Bobby Harrington, senior minister/pastor of Harpeth Christian Church, as he explains how their church leadership chose to respond and why.
Q. A Tennessee law banning gender-transition treatments for minors (SB1) was challenged before the Supreme Court this past week. What did your church leadership decide to do in anticipation of the Supreme Court hearing?
Jack Johnson is the Majority Leader of the Tennessee State Senate and one of the architects of this bill. He called me and asked to meet me before the election in late October. He wanted to share what was about to happen with the law banning gender-transition treatment for children (those under 18) at the nation’s supreme court and to ask for prayer and advice.
The church’s executive minister joined with me when we met. We prayed together at that time. Our church invites people to fast and pray on Tuesdays, with a specific focus, so we received the elders’ blessing to ask the entire church to fast and pray the Tuesday before oral arguments were made to the Supreme Court for the presentation.
The elders also agreed to invite Jack to come to our Sunday service and share about the case for a couple minutes, and then we as a church prayed for him. We felt this was significant enough to bring before the church, and that’s why we had him come and be prayed for last Sunday.
“We felt this was significant enough to bring before the church, and that’s why we had him come and be prayed for last Sunday.”
Q. Harpeth isn’t known for getting partisan when it comes to politics and politicians. Why take a side on this issue?
We really wrestled with this. How a person votes is a matter of personal conviction, and we want to treat people like adults. Church leaders can’t be authoritatively telling their people things that the Bible isn’t clear about, such as which presidential candidate to vote for or which party to align with. But there are some ethical issues for which the Bible does offer clarity and which can cause significant suffering if we get it wrong. This is one of those issues.
This is not primarily a political thing; this is a moral thing. In the last several years, moral chaos in this country has multiplied, I believe under demonic forces. One result has been people encouraging children with gender dysphoria to try to permanently alter their bodies, through interventions such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and top/bottom surgery.
A year and a half ago, we as a church did a deep dive into what the Bible teaches, and we asked everyone to read David Young’s book, Resilient: Standing Firm in a Hostile World. We saw that so much of what the Bible teaches is anchored in Genesis 1:27, which is clear that God made us in his image, male and female, and that’s a good thing and we don’t have permission to try to alter the way God made us. As a church leadership, we are convinced that the Bible offers clarity on this issue and that deviating from this clarity has been shown to cause confused children a lot of irreversible suffering.
Q. I’m guessing not everyone was happy with the public stance Harpeth took?
Some of my friends advised us against taking a public stance and especially against inviting Senator Johnson to come on stage during the Sunday morning service. Someone texted me, “You very well might lose staff and members over this.” So far, we haven’t seen any fallout, and people have actually expressed gratitude that we’ve offered clarity on this issue.
I know there are intelligent, good-hearted Christians who would be quick to warn that taking public stances on politically charged issues smacks of Christian nationalism. And yes, there are valid dangers in churches getting too comfortable with politicians and becoming the puppet of a political party. That’s why church leaders need to call out sin and corruption consistently, regardless of whom they might offend. But for this particular issue, we felt convicted that we should take a public stance. A couple scriptures that were formative for our decision were these:
“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4, NIV)
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11, NIV)
I have found that many Christians are eager for biblical clarity, and even when they’re not, they need to be made aware of what the Bible teaches. Churches also need to commit to standing up for those who are young and vulnerable. One hallmark of Christianity throughout history has been standing up for what’s best for children. Trans activists will argue that children’s vulnerability and susceptibility is precisely why they need access to these surgical and chemical interventions, but the more we study the effects of gender-transition treatments for minors, the more we see experimental and irreversible interventions lead to heartbreaking results.
“That’s why church leaders need to call out sin and corruption consistently, regardless of whom they might offend.”
Q. What advice would you give church leaders facing a similar dilemma—on taking a public stance or not?
These aren’t easy matters. I realize some church leaders reading this would not have approached the issue the way Harpeth Christian Church did. And that’s okay. There needs to be freedom for church leaders to prayerfully wrestle with these issues and make the wisest, most God-honoring decision for their context.
First and foremost, pray. Be a praying church. Second, be clear on what in Christianity is essential, what’s important-but-not-essential, and what’s a matter of personal conviction. Understand that not every hill is worth dying on. Third, you’ll want to weigh what suffering might result if your church stays silent. We took a public stand in praying as we did because we’re convinced that protecting children is worth it. Have courage and trust that God will use that courage to embolden others.
Here are some resources from RENEW.org to help you think through transgender issues from a biblical perspective:
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- On Gender and the Bible: Thoughts of a Theologian and a Therapist on the Transgender Debate, by Darren Williamson and Ellen Radcliff
- Is there Really a Transgender “Craze” Seducing our Daughters? A Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage, by Guy Layfield
- The Remarkable Power of Preferred Pronouns, by Daniel McCoy
- Theology of the Body: What the Bible Teaches About the Importance of Bodies, by Jonathan Storment
