Emerging Sexual Identities
Navigating the Landscape with Today’s Youth
About
A thoughtful and orthodox approach to the sexual identity questions of today's youth
According to a recent Gallup Poll, 20.8% of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+. As youth culture continues to evolve around sexual identity, Christian leaders, parents, and counselors need practical guidance for ministry and care. Emerging Sexual Identities offers a measured Christian response to the diverse sexual identities that are embraced by an increasing number of adolescents and explains how these identities function in the lives of today's youth.
Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky bring significant clinical and ministry experience to this timely resource. This comprehensive guide provides:
· Clear explanations - Help for understanding the new language and categories of sexual identities
· Research-based insights - Grounded in clinical experience and current data on Gen Z sexual identity trends
· Practical tools - Actionable strategies for pastors, youth workers, counselors, and parents
· Orthodox Christian perspective - Maintains biblical foundations while offering compassionate engagement
· Cultural context - Explains how queer theory and cultural shifts have shaped today's identity landscape
· Relational approach - Focuses on accompanying youth through their personal stories and questions
· Real-world application - Addresses actual controversies and challenges in ministry settings
The book focuses on accompanying, engaging, and ministering to teens navigating diverse sexual identities in the 21st century.
Whether you're a pastor seeking to understand youth culture, a parent walking alongside your teenager, or a counselor working with LGBTQ+ youth, this book equips Christians with the wisdom and tools needed to minister effectively in today's complex sexual identity culture.
Contents
Part 1: Understanding Culture and Context
1. A Culture of Sexual Identities
2. Queer Theory
3. How Sexual Identities Come into Being
Part 2: Identifying a Ministry Model
4. Controversies in Ministry
5. A Relational-Narrative Approach to Ministry
6. Narrative Revisited: Minister to Questions Tied to Chapters in a Life Story
7. Engaging Youth: Ministry Recommendations for Care and Counseling
Epilogue
Index
Endorsements
"In an era when so many conversations about sexuality feel hurried and anxious, this book is brilliantly patient. Yarhouse and Sadusky teach us how to slow down and ask better questions at the intersections of psychology, philosophy, and faith--questions that open dialogue with young people instead of shutting them down. This book will be a valuable resource for ministers, care providers, and parents alike."
Gregory Coles, author of Single, Gay, Christian and No Longer Strangers
"For youth ministers and parents asking, 'What do young people really mean when they talk about their sexual or gender identities?,' this book is a gracious guide. With clarity and compassion, it takes you by the hand, unpacks the cultural conversation, and offers a thoughtful, wise path forward."
Laurie Krieg, author and director of parent programs at The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender
"Many of us lack the experience to navigate the rapidly evolving perspectives on youth sexual identity. Yarhouse and Sadusky deepen our understanding beyond simplistic views, equipping us to respond with compassion and empathy. Emerging Sexual Identities offers grace-filled, biblically grounded, practical wisdom, helping us deepen the relationships with those we love when they need us most."
Mark Matlock, founder of WisdomWorks; author of Faith for the Curious
"This is a very timely and important book. The authors' professional command of and experiential engagement with this subject matter will guide parents and parish/school staff to more informed, balanced, pastoral, and fruitful parenting and youth ministry."
Most Rev. Thomas R. Zinkula, Archbishop of Dubuque
"Jesus bids us to read and judge wisely the signs of the times. In this book, Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky do just that. They bring a keen attentiveness to emerging patterns and cultural trends, looking for what is of value in secular theory while holding firm to a Christian ethos. Christian ministers will find this a particularly helpful tool for understanding young people right where they are and for engaging their self-perception and journey of faith in creative ways."
Anna Carter, cofounder and president, Eden Invitation
The Authors
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Mark A. Yarhouse
Mark Yarhouse (PsyD, Wheaton College) is the Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College, where he also directs the Sexual & Gender Identity Institute. An award-winning teacher, psychologist, and researcher, Dr....
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© Jess Amsberry Julia Sadusky
Julia Sadusky (PsyD, Regent University) is a clinical psychologist who owns a private practice in Littleton, Colorado. She is also a consultant, a speaker, and a fellow at the Sexual & Gender Identity Institute. Her research experiences and...
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