“What is the devil going to try to use to discourage you? He’s going to use religious folks in the same way the devil used religious folks to attack Jesus, their unbelief,” said Preston. “And so, one, as your husband, that’s one thing that I’ve witnessed.”
“I’ve witnessed the enemy raise up ‘Christians’ to discourage you in your mission because of their…unbelief,” he said. “But I want to encourage you that you’ve been faithful. You’ve been faithful. God has used you. He will continue to use you, and a lot of this is just a result of your fruitfulness and faithfulness.”
“I appreciate that,” said Jackie. She then went on to share a perspective that was different, but complementary, to what they had been saying about style so far, and she explained that people can show wisdom and even obedience to God by dressing a certain way based on the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
“When I first came to faith in 2008, I immediately changed my wardrobe,” she said. “I went super hyper-girly, had acrylic nails, all the stuff, eyelashes…it was just uncomfortable.”
“But I felt led by the Spirit to do that, to guard myself,” Jackie explained, “because I knew two things. I knew I needed to develop in restoring myself back to femininity, just because I had been walking out, I think, trying to be a gender that I wasn’t designed to be.”
“And I also knew I did not have the stamina to fight whatever temptations would come my way if I still presented as male—not presented as male,” she clarified, “but, you know, still dressed in a certain kind of way.”
“So there was a long season of my life where I walked in a certain kind of wisdom when it came to how I dress, for my heart and for my presentation,” said Jackie. “And so I do think that those who come out of the lifestyle need to have those kinds of questions, need to have those kinds of counsel, and consider the Holy Spirit.”
“It sounds extra, but it’s simply discerning what is pleasing to the Lord,” she said. “Consider him in all your ways, even when it comes to how you dress…I’m just wanting to give balance to this conversation and saying, we’re not saying you can dress however you want because that makes you comfortable.”
If a person’s style “now is in opposition to the lifestyle that the Lord has brought you into, then you need to consider how to manage that,” said Jackie.
Returning to the topic of style being a matter of authenticity, freedom, and a way of showing the diversity in the body of Christ, Jackie noted that each individual’s personality is created by God and will become enhanced, not diminished, as believers follow him. Preston mentioned that he has experienced people attacking him “because I do not look like the typical person who shows up at these conferences,” i.e., he doesn’t wear khakis and loafers.
“I see a lot of this in ministry, where people are afraid to be themselves,” Jackie said. “And by ‘themselves,’ I don’t mean your flesh self. Yourself, I mean the personality that God has given you.”
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“When you are in Christ, becoming a Christian doesn’t mean that your personality is dissolved,” she said. “The process of sanctification is the process of actually clarifying the personality that you were born with. And so God is getting rid of all the ways in which your personality has been perverted.”
“My natural personality, I think, is one of extreme tenderness, extreme sensitivity,” said Jackie. “I think at my core, I’m actually a very soft woman.”
“Yeah, you are,” Preston agreed.
“And so in the sanctification process, the Lord is actually trying to get out all of that stuff in my system that is hiding the me that he made me to be,” she continued. “I want people to know God doesn’t want to use the you [that] you think is acceptable. He wants to use the you he made you to be like, and so allow him to do that…don’t let nobody make you feel bad for you being yourself.”
“That’s good,” said Preston. “That’s beautiful.”
