Transgender Man Surrenders to Jesus—But Still Isn’t Welcome at Church?
Neeza left behind a transgender identity to follow Jesus, but still struggles to feel accepted in the church. In this episode of Provoke and Inspire, we explore how rigid gender stereotypes have created barriers in Christian culture, and why it's time to recover a biblical view of identity rooted in Christ, not cultural expectations.
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July 12, 2025
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Neeza, a former transgender man, gives his life to Jesus, but he still doesn't feel welcome in the church. I want to talk about a systemic problem in Christian culture that might explain why.
Welcome to Provoke and Inspire, where I wrestle with culture and current events by asking what would Jesus think and what would Jesus do.
Hi, my name is Neeza and I've been a Christian for 26 days. But I'm also a feminine guy, and I've denied myself my earthly temptations like living a trans identity. I'm with a woman right now and I love it, and I have aspirations to be a father and a husband one day. But when it comes to who I am at the core, the man that I am, I am feminine and I cannot change that. I can deny myself the temptations of the lifestyle I used to live, yes. But when it comes to who I am at the core, I can't deny that. Yes, I'm always going to love styling and fashion and interior design. That's just who I am.
This is such a powerful testimony. Someone choosing to follow Jesus despite the inevitable backlash and hate from the world. But it also exposes a problem we rarely talk about. Christians and the church have often created an environment that feels unwelcoming to people like him.
We have adopted rigid stereotypes that define masculinity and femininity in shallow, cultural terms, often reduced to hobbies or personality traits. But liking sports or lifting weights or doing cold plunges does not make you masculine, any more than being nurturing or emotionally expressive makes you feminine. These things have nothing to do with the biblical vision of masculinity or femininity.
The truth is, some men are gentle, artistic, and highly relational. They may prefer to paint or journal rather than watch football. In the same way, some women don’t fit into cultural boxes. They may not dress or behave in ways that match what's expected. But the church hasn’t always known what to do with people like Neeza. Too often, we’ve made them feel like outsiders. When people don’t feel accepted, they eventually walk away.
And that’s exactly what’s happening. The world is more than happy to receive them, but not as men and women who break the mold. Instead, they're told that their identity must be wrong. That they’re trapped in the wrong body. That their expression is a mistake. What should have been received as God-given diversity is distorted into something else.
On top of that, we have misused Scripture in ways that deepen the pain. For example, when Paul refers to the effeminate in 1 Corinthians 6:9, he is not talking about men who are soft-spoken, artistic, or emotional. He is addressing sexual immorality in a broad list of behaviors that do not reflect a life transformed by Jesus. Sadly, that verse has often been used to shame and exclude men who simply don’t fit cultural ideas of manhood. That’s not what Paul meant, and that’s not what Jesus taught.
We need to return to the biblical vision of masculinity and femininity. We need to put gender expression in its proper place. First and foremost, we are much more than male or female. We are image-bearers of God. Our culture has turned gender and sexuality into idols. They have become ultimate. But our true worth does not come from our gender. It comes from the fact that we are made in God’s image.
Being male or female matters. It's a significant part of who we are. But it is not the source of our value. As Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female. We are all one in Christ Jesus.
When Scripture talks about gender roles, it always connects them to character, not to clichés. In 1 Corinthians 16:13–14, Paul says, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” This kind of masculinity is not about pride or control. It’s about courage, conviction, and sacrificial love.
In Ephesians 5:25, Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” That is not about dominance. It's about laying down your life for someone else. Biblical masculinity is strength expressed through service, identity rooted in Christ, and faithfulness, not bravado.
Biblical femininity is the same. It’s not about conforming to a mold. It’s about living a life rooted in Christ and surrendered to him, not shaped by cultural expectations.
As the church stands firm in a world that is confused about gender and sexuality, we need to make sure we are not adding to that confusion. We should not put men or women in a box based on hobbies or demeanor. We should welcome the full range of personalities, temperaments, and callings within God’s beautiful design.
For the sake of people like Neeza, and for many others watching from the sidelines wondering if there is a place for them in the family of God, I pray we make the changes that are needed. That we stop building walls God never asked us to build. That we become a church where everyone, regardless of personality or interest, can lay down their old life, be raised to new life in Jesus, and be embraced for who God made them to be.
Thanks for watching Provoke and Inspire. If you found this meaningful, like the video, leave a comment, and check out provokeandinspirepodcast.com for more.