Gender gathers Christian Standard articles that examine identity, the body, and God’s design for men and women in light of Scripture. Here you’ll find biblical teaching on being created male and female, how Christians should think about gender roles, and thoughtful engagement with modern debates about gender identity and transgenderism. These articles aim to help readers hold convictions with clarity, speak with compassion, and live faithfully as disciples of Jesus in a changing culture.
September 1, 2024
Gender dysphoria is real. To treat them with anything less than compassion is not Christian. What is up for debate is the efficacy of the current practices in transgender healthcare for youth. Recently, England released a scathing review that challenges the established gender affirming care model.
June 24, 2024
Hilary Cass is the leading pediatrician in England’s National Health Services. She recently completed what The Economist has deemed the most significant review “ever undertaken in the field of transgender health.”
January 1, 2024
By Rubel Shelly Stated in the most basic terms, sex is an objective category defined by empirically discernible and set-at-birth qualities, whereas gender is a subjective self-perception and option for the presentation of oneself to others. The former is biological, while the latter is psychological. The former states who a person is in terms of bodily taxonomy, and the latter offers what a person may feel about one’s placement in the world’s social structures. A biological male with a high-pitched voice, shorter-than-average height, and/or wearing a pink shirt is still male. A biological female whose voice has a lower pitch
March 25, 2017
By Tim Harlow In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, many women in the U.S. are feeling devalued. What should be the church”s response? Although many issues were debated during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, gender issues didn”t seem to be at the forefront. Most people seemed prepared for the possibility of a female president. It wasn”t a big deal. Even those who were dead set against Hillary Clinton for president seldom said it was because she”s a woman. And while many people were offended by Donald Trump”s comments and apparent attitudes toward women, they tended to overlook this
February 24, 2015
By Mark A. Taylor New York publishing executive Joanne Lipman wrote last year about the subtle barriers and “benevolent sexism” she”s experienced in an industry that says it”s open to women leaders. After reading her article, “Women at Work: a Guide for Men,” I couldn”t help but wonder: Do women working in my world, i.e. local churches and parachurch ministries, also feel stymied by the men who dominate their workplaces? I wrote several women church leaders to get an answer, and I reported last week all of them answered “yes.” Since then, I have heard from a couple more women
February 17, 2015
By Mark A. Taylor Many, many years ago I bumped into the president of a parachurch ministry who was considering a woman for an executive role with his organization. “You know,” he said to me, as if he couldn”t quite believe the statement he was about to make. “She”s really sharp.” She would be the first woman to serve (with distinction, I might add) with such authority at his institution. That incident reminds me of a Christian college teacher who wrote on a student”s paper, “You write really well for a woman.” Admittedly, both these incidents occurred decades ago. But
April 18, 2014
By LeRoy Lawson City of Wrong: A Friday in Jerusalem M. Kamel Hussein (translated by Kenneth Cragg) Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1995 (first published in 1954) The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are Jenell Williams Paris Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2011 Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community Philip D. Kenneson Downers Grove: IVP Books, 1999 Picture yourself in Jerusalem on Good Friday. Even better, imaginatively hover around and in and through the actors, big and small, in this most consequential drama. This is what Kamel Hussein does
March 6, 2014
By Matt Proctor In the book Children’s Letters to God, one young girl wrote: “Dear God, are boys better than girls? I know you are one, but try to be fair.” It’s an age-old question: what does God think about women and, specifically, women’s roles in the church? It’s also a controversial question. The April 2013 article “Women Preaching” generated more comments on CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s website than any other article last year. The article mentioned that Ozark Christian College offers a preaching class for women, and some readers wondered about the biblical rationale for such a class. (By the way,
October 25, 2013
By Betty L. Aldridge I heard the words nearly 60 years ago, and I have never forgotten them. As I searched for God”s will in my life, the words triggered many questions. It has not been an easy search and, even today, I still have questions, but I give God glory for leading me and for the experiences he has given me. This is my story. I want to share how God has used me. First, I should explain the context for those words. As a high school student, I was asked to preach a sermon at an all-day regional
February 11, 2012
By Daniel Schantz When my wife and I attend church together, we do not have the same experience at all. When we get back home and start comparing notes, I sometimes wonder if we were even in the same building. The Arrival She: We arrive at the church 30 minutes early. Any later would be unthinkable to my wife, Sharon, who is magnetically drawn to people and needs time to visit with them. Like a hummingbird foraging flowers, she moves from friend to friend, gathering newsy nectar and sharing the supernatural achievements of her grandchildren. At the same time,
November 25, 2011
By Jeffrey Miller Late in 2008, Todd Carmichael staggered to the South Pole after covering 700 uphill miles in 39 days. He arrived with damaged gear, frostbit lungs, extreme exhaustion””and a world record! His discipline and determination, endurance and exhaustion, are truly amazing. Equally amazing, however, is whom he beat. Her name is Hannah McKeand, and Carmichael bested her record by 104 minutes””a margin comparable to winning a marathon by less than 4 minutes.1 Whether these adventurers are Christians, I don”t know. Their exploits, however, turn my mind to a frequent accusation commonly called “the feminization of the church.” As
May 10, 2006
By Mark A. Taylor Can we ever agree about women in ministry? Given the huge breadth of belief and practice among Christian churches, maybe not. Some Christian churches, for example, have decided to add women to their board of elders. But then there’s the church that will not ordain the women on its ministerial staff or let these ladies attend an off site overnight planning retreat with the male ministers and elders. Our major conventions welcome women speakers to their platforms. But I heard about a Christian church that hired a woman music director with the stipulation that she face
August 30, 2005
Lana West explores the debate over women in ministry by tracing Scripture from creation through the early church, with special attention to 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 and the role of cultural context in interpretation.
March 27, 2026
Rick Cherok
March 27, 2026
David Empson
March 27, 2026
David Faust