How should I respond when a teen comes out? Do I have to tell their parents? What does it mean to be transgender? And how do I talk to a trans youth? These are the kinds of tough questions facing Christian communities everywhere. It's not enough for faith leaders to improvise their way through these questions. Leaders need concrete tools to navigate the LGBTQ+ landscape. Welcoming and Affirming: A Guide to Supporting and Working with LGBTQ+ Christian Youth is one of those tools. A handbook for pastors, youth workers, church leaders, educators, and other adults in Christian settings, the book provides answers to the most pressing questions about sexuality, gender, mental health, safe sex, and more. Written by a team of LGBTQ+ adults, Welcoming and Affirming features first-hand, personal testimonials from queer young adults who have experienced the joys and hardships of being queer and Christian. You'll walk away with a lot of insight, prepared to love, affirm, and accept the LGBTQ+ teens in your community the way God does--exactly as they are. Welcoming and Affirming is a companion book to Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens.
Leigh Finke is a writer, media producer, and editor. Her work focuses on religion and culture, and how both intersect with the lives of queer people in the United States.Born in the Twin Cities, Finke has lived in Chicago, Missoula, and Los Angeles, and has worked in journalism, politics and policy, magazine editing, blogging, podcasting, advocacy, teaching, and academia. This trajectory represents Finke's lifelong love of learning, gathering new experiences, and interacting with diverse communities.In addition to her professional endeavors, Finke is passionate about LGBTQ+ advocacy, particularly as it relates to the many ways Christianity in the United States has been used to harm queer youth.Finke and her two kids live in St. Paul, Minnesota.
"This is the closest thing to a one-stop resource I've seen. I want to give it to everyone. Welcoming and Affirming should hold a prized place in the library of anyone who works with LGBTQ+ youth." --Matthias Roberts, author of Beyond Shame and host of Queerology: A Podcast on Belief and Being "The group of diverse queer siblings in Christ who have gathered to create the words you will read here are incredible. They have all said yes to the great project of gathering together to curate safe, life-giving, and life-affirming space. I urge you to join the great battle for the soul of the Christian church." --Lenny Duncan, author of Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S "This book is a must-read for any adult working with youth in the church -- that is to say, for all of us." --Emmy Kegler, pastor and author of One Coin Found: How God's Love Stretches to the Margins
