Sexuality saturates our society. It is everywhere. We cannot escape it as a conversation, nor should we as parents/youth workers.
Yet, I hear from many parents who are Christ-followers about the lack of discussion and conversation within their local church or ministry about the topic of sex. Last summer at NTS Camp we addressed it directly, and the #1 response we heard from students themselves is “Thank you for talking about this with us.”
Yes, this topic is loaded with emotion, but we must be talking about it. There has never been a time during my life when understanding God’s Truth about sexuality has been more important. Students are talking, they are learning, they are asking. We must be present in this conversation.
It can be intimidating but my goal is to help you get the conversation started with your students.
Part 1 will give you a basis for this conversation.
Part 2 will help you initiate the conversation.
WHERE I STAND
Let me say up front: I personally have a traditional, biblical view of sexuality and marriage. And at Never The Same we have the same view. At Never The Same we believe that marriage is designed by God for one man and one woman for a lifetime and that sexuality is to be shared within this framework that God created for us.
This view is informed from Scripture as well as things like tradition, biology, and science. I believe all of these sources point clearly to the reality of human sexuality. (This writing is not intended to be an extensive defense of this view and its sources. Rather it is a perspective from this view.) Therefore as you read on it is important that you know where I am coming from.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
Let me urge you to take a stand for traditional, biblical views and to stand firm in this truth. Your family/youth group and our world need to see a rational, biblical, and loving perspective from us as parents and youth workers.
I start with Scripture. And in the beginning, God speaks about His creation in BINARY LANGUAGE. Light and darkness. Land and sea. Sun and moon. And finally: male and female.
Genesis: 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Then I continue with biology and science. Our “modern science” tells us varying other options when it comes to our view of “gender.” (I use gender in quotes because there are so many definitions of this word/concept that no one seems to universally agree on this term). Some say there are only two genders…male and female. Some say gender is a spectrum and there are many more options, and that we all fall upon this spectrum, offering almost an infinite amount of options.
But biology and the Bible are clear: we are made in the image of God as male and female. I tend to use the term “biological sex” primarily because the word “gender” is more of a lightning rod.
In Part 2, I will walk you through how to lovingly have a conversation with your students about this topic.
Geoff Eckart, CEO
Never The Same
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