Juli Slattery: This Is How the Church Can Begin the LGBTQ Conversation

Dr. Juli Slattery is a clinical psychologist, author, and speaker, as well as the president and co-founder of Authentic Intimacy, a ministry devoted to reclaiming God’s design for sexuality. Juli is the author of 10 books and hosts the weekly podcast, Java with Juli. She also provides many helpful resources for ministry leaders at SexualDiscipleship.com. Juli and her husband, Mike, are the parents of three sons; they live in Akron, Ohio.

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Dr. Juli Slattery

► Listen on Apple
► Listen on GooglePlay
► Listen on Spotify
► Listen on Stitcher
► Listen on YouTube

Other Podcasts in the LGBTQ and the Church Series

Gregory Coles: It’s Possible to Be Same-Sex Attracted and Fully Surrendered to Jesus

Mark Yarhouse: How to Pastor Someone Who Has Gender Dysphoria

Ed Shaw: How God Has Used Same-Sex Attraction to Equip Me As a Pastor

Sean McDowell: Scripture Is Very Clear About God’s Design for Sexuality

Rachel Gilson: How Jesus Helps Me Say No to My Same-Sex Desires

Caleb Kaltenbach: Do You See the LGBTQ Community Through God’s Eyes?

Preston Sprinkle: Jesus Left the 99 to Pursue the One—And That Means Trans People

Laurence Koo: A Call for the American Church to Welcome Single (LGBTQ) Believers

Key Questions for Dr. Juli Slattery

-What are some of the biggest changes you have seen regarding sexuality, culture, and the church in the nine years since you started Authentic Intimacy? 

-What are you hearing from parents and church leaders that they are wrestling with the most when it comes to LGBTQ issues?

-How does the biblical narrative guide us when it comes to conversations about sexual and gender identity?

-Could you speak to the importance of listening to those in the LGTBQ community, as well as of having a posture of listening when speaking about LGBTQ topics?

Key Quotes from Dr. Juli Slattery

“I remember in the early years churches just pretty much saying to us, ‘We don’t need this conversation, we don’t have problems like pornography or people struggling with same-sex attraction. That’s other places.’ And now it’s like every church is saying, ‘Please help us with this conversation.’”

“I think one thing that’s happened is the brokenness and confusion that probably was always there now has permission to come out.” 

“The numbers of the younger generation in the normalization of [LGBTQ identities] is overwhelming. And so parents are saying ‘Hey, I raised my kids to believe in God and the Bible,  and maybe they still believe in God in the Bible, but this is now becoming something that God seems to be embracing from their perspective.’  I think there are a lot of pastors wrestling with, is this an issue that we need to take a stand on if we do what kind of implications come with that from both our congregation, as well as the legal concerns?”

“I truly believe that all of our sexual questions are also spiritual questions.” 

“How you think about sex is more important than what you think about sex. And I think traditionally in the church, we’ve been trained what to think about sex.”