Pastors, how would you respond if a cross-dressing man attended your church?

First, cross-dressers are transvestites, not trans-gendered. Trans-gendered individuals were born male or female, and surgically changed their gender. Sorry to sound pedantic, but there is a great deal of confusion about this topic.

Second, a trans-gendered individual ought to be treated with love, acceptance, and respect. What's done is done. And regardless of gender, the trans-gendered person is a human being.

Treating them like a freak or judging them is not appropriate Christian behavior. It's no more appropriate to abuse a person with Scripture than to do so with your fists. Lastly, anyone seeking the Lord with purity of intent will find and they don't even have to go to church to do it.

Maybe that person's honest and sincere attempt to find love and acceptance in church will move some of the less sincere members to offer it. Interesting question. And just for the sake of clarification, I'm not a pastor, but I am a former nun.

I am not a Pastor, but if a cross-dresser atttended my church for the intention of worshipping God, as long as they were dressed in good taste, it would not matter. All of God's children should be permitted to enter the House of The Lord in worship, and it is none of our business, their manner of dress as long as it is done in good taste. JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED, SAYETH THE LORD.

As a Missionary and Pastor... I would continue service as usual and preach the same message I had prepared before hand... The only change would be that when we have visitors... regardless of what they are wearing or not wearing... (public nudity is a problem in my area) I would make sure that the service ends with a full explanation of the Salvation message and an opportunity for receiving Christ. I would like to add that after knowing of the persons personal issues... I would also start praying for the person at various times when the Holy Spirit moved me... remembering peoples faces is often the instigation of prayer for that person... and over time.. prayer changes things. Mountains can be moved.. with prayer.

GaeHall, if everyone in your congregation is a child of God then why would you have to take note of anyone who was odd in your congregation. So long as they didn't stop services to throw a fit shouldn't those who received the word freely give freely and not abrade?

I am not a pastor but I what have to say is in agreement with Dave Mathews. I think that we should treat everyone with kindness as we never know when we may be entertaining angels! I belive that what other people do has no bearing on me as a person but what I do definitely does.

I Also remember reading in the bible that in God's eyes no sin is greater than another, so if I judge someone for sinning then how am I any better!

Dear Motown2Chitown,I would like to clarify that any move to cross gender boundaries, whether it is a move in clothing, in body changes or cross-gender expression, is rightly labelled under the umbrella term of 'trans-gendersim'. While cross-dressing may be labelled as transvestitism it still falls under the category of trans-gender behaviour. Trans-genderism has many expressions.

The male cross-dresser who wears pink female underwear under his business suit is still expressing trans-gender behaviour and trans-gender desires. The transsexual who changes his body are also expressing trans-gender behaviour which arises from a trans-gender struggle and motivation. I too am pendantic on these matters as they are often wrongly labelled and very confusing.

However the trans-gender term encorporates all expressions of cross gender and cross sexual behaviour from little to extreme. Thank you for your loving response towards this answer. Your input has been invaluable.

I'm not sure how i'd respond. I'd only hope they come 2 God 4 a life change. A friend once married a cross-dresser, but somerhing told me it wouldn't last.

Sure enough about 1-2 years L8r they divorced.

Depends on the heart of the crossdresser entering... IF it is so He is unresponsive to both the Gospel's message of repentence as necessary part of the path to Christ and some reason to attack the Body of the community, then YES he should remove himself. As for the typically unaware, political correct or insidious misuse of the PARTIAL quote 'JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED' so often taken out of context, Christ FINISHES the admonition,'first take the plank out of your own eye sincerely ask the Lord for forgiveness and learn and live the Truth and Light by and then you will see clearly be in a righteous position to remove the speck from your brother's eye to judge and to help him out of his bondage to sin. ' Clearly, Christ has a vehement distaste for sin (the reason for s death and resurrection and ascension) and the speck (the sin) STILL must ultimately be removed to stand in presence before and with God.

Sin STILL IS SIN and CAN be forgiven, not excused yet MUST be removed ... NO sin can ever be said of well, it's 'Okay' I'll deal with it later, but ignore it for now. Then there's also those who misuse the 'cast the first stone' without finishing his admonishment to the adultress, "GO AND SIN NO MORE'Yes, ALL have sinned, yes ALL who do not truly repent of sin and accept Christ shall perish...ps.. 'people person' Holy Handshakes that sounds like someone who prays to Barney (the purple critter, not the Frank. )PPS Not a pastor either... just a sinner saved by the grace of .

I would remind the person that God abhors all deviant behaviour and show them Scripture like Romans One............... Remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, theose citites were not only full of homosexuals and lesbians but transgendered people as well and God dealt with them............. I believe that if a transgendered person accepts Jesus Christ as their person Lord and Saviour they will lose the need to be a cross-dresser..............................................................................

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.