We need honest, accurate, comprehensive sex education, which is one reason CSE horrifies me. It is not remotely comprehensive; it is not very educational, nor, ironically, even very informed on the actual sex/orgasm aspects! [2]

I remind the reader of several resources which explore these matters more fully, including Laurence Fox' excellent '#Groomed: How Schools Sexualise Your Children' and the Family Watch International's classic, 'War on Children'. [3]

Thankfully many parents and some professionals have started to wake up to the fact that they are losing or have lost their young. Entities like Mass Resistance and the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in the US and Parent Power and Public Child Protection, Wales, in the UK indicate a change for the better. [4]

The alarming envelopment of western culture by Pride, a powerful social, cultural and political movement now being promoted everywhere (it appears) is a key piece of the background against which we must consider Church leaders' responses the CSE.

Most professionals are not forced to promote Pride (yet), but public critique is not allowed. [5] Regardless of origin, the quote, 'To learn who rules over you simply look to those you cannot criticize', seems apt. [6] Because church leaders are still somewhat spared (religion being one of the protected characteristics), do they realize what's happened to the rest of us?

So now we turn to unpacking common but problematic sorts of responses by church leaders (and I am assuming they still hold to a traditional, orthodox sex ethic).

As we begin the list, an important general point can be made with a quote from Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, 'We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented'.

ONE. What some San Francisco choir sang about in June 2021 is irrelevant to me and our thriving children's ministry and youth group.

A Message from the Gay Community ... You think that we'll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked, Funny, just this once you're correct. We'll convert your children, happens bit by bit, quietly and subtly, and you will barely notice it ... We'll make them tolerant and fair ... We're coming for your children. [7]

Sorry, but this admission is highly relevant!

Made by the more uninhibited vocal gays of San Francisco, this admission is actually neither a secret nor a surprise. In fact, it is a well-known, public phenomenon which a few of us have been monitoring over many years. And to be fair, the much smaller 'Gays Against Groomers', a 'leave the kids alone' movement, is very encouraging! However, our key concerns remain.

How has this 'conversion' process occurred? Actually, there are various components, and to be sure, the 'Gay Community' can take only partial credit.

Here, three influences come to mind: CSE, Social Justice concerns, and emerging SSA (same-sex attraction/gender dysphoria) in our Christian youth.

CSE, again

Mandatory CSE includes, embeds and celebrates LGBT rights and sexuality. And if you have youngsters in state (even private) education, chances are they are being exposed to, at times marinated in, what are actually profoundly anti-Christian agendas and worldviews. They are overtly or tacitly being encouraged to 'explore' their sexuality in new, exciting ways (i.e. non heterosexual/married) pioneered by our San Francisco gays, among others.

A UK example of this toxic 'educational' content: https://www.bishuk.com/; for discussion of the extent of Stonewall (one such LGBT 'charity') in UK schools, see https://parentpower.family/stonewall-champions-church-schools/ (2023). Brave Miriam Cates MP noted (2021) that 73% of British school children 'had encountered Critical Social Justice Theory, of which radical Gender Theory is a key part'. [8]

For the powerful UK lesbian activist and educator, Dr Elly Barnes, CEO of 'Educate and Celebrate' (another entity targeting children starting in nursery): 'Together we can make society a more welcoming place for everyone'. [9] Sadly, these 'educational' programmes are very successful and popular.

'We'll make them tolerant and fair'

Indeed, Barnes' strapline plays right into the wider SJW---Social Justice Warrior---kind of mentality now common among the young, Christian and otherwise. Many youngsters care deeply about justice and morality, feel the pain of the underdog, and want to make the world a better place! However, these laudable, legitimate aims are sabotaged and weaponised to serve another and pernicious agenda, as indicated by both the choir and Cates.

And so, in relations to sex and sexuality, youngsters are being led to believe powerful but specious LGBT claims which directly or indirectly undermine or are antithetical to orthodox Christian sexual morality. I think of slogans such as: love is love; we include all; born gay; gay is the new black; people cannot change; these lifestyles are healthy and happy; (for 'progressive' Christians) Jesus just loved and accepted everyone, so we should too; and if only we would learn to be kind and tolerant and accept 'all', the world would be a much better place!

Sadly, the church is not, in the main, addressing these claims, and so youngsters are left vulnerable to being taken in, duped, and actually, brainwashed. Even if they still manage (somehow) to maintain a traditionally biblical perspective, do they know how to defend it when challenged by Woke peers, teachers, on Tik Tok, Instagram etc?

The choice for many now is to believe the Bible (and be seen and see oneself as hateful and discriminatory, an impossible fate to consider for those with anything to lose) or just accept and include all. Which choice do you think they will make?

'Oh dear, these feelings are not going away!'

For other youngsters, they discover that they are not outgrowing their SSA (same-sex attraction) or gender dysphoria, though they have done all they could to shift it. For them, it emerges to settle and remains to plague their present and future existence. They are unable to understand what happened or find a good way forward.

Questions like 'Did God make me this way?' are very real challenges to their being able to receive 'the Gospel' or live according to biblical guidelines.

That is a key reason why the X-LGBT approach is so important! These individuals have the T shirt, and intimately know those worlds, but also, have found something so much better, healthier, holier: https://xoutloud.com/. Another great resource is James Parker's powerful personal testimony: https://truelove.is/stories/james-parker-victor-or-victim/.

Part 3 addresses these issues at greater length.

A flourishing children's ministry and youth group cannot alone address these concerns.

TWO. Our job is to preach the Gospel! Anything else deflects from this vital, God-given task.

Fair enough, but we have already noted the serious problems above with this kind of response.

In a different vein, doesn't it indicate a very limited, truncated 'Gospel'? Isn't God interested in saving the whole of the human person, and the whole of our children, and not just their 'souls'?

In fact, isn't Jesus very clear about these very matters particularly around children? 'Let the little children come to me [Jesus], and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these' (Matthew 19. 14, NIV). Also, 'It would be better for them [those who damage children] to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble' (Luke 17. 2, NIV). And that is exactly what CSE is doing: causing youngsters to stumble (or get body parts permanently removed etc).

Why is it that my Muslim colleagues can see this so clearly, and are concerned for the welfare of all youngsters, and not just their own? Many Christian parents do not appear to care about their own 'going gay', never mind the rest.

Even if they are relatively solid in their own psycho-sexual identity, being in a class with boys who identify as girls, say, means youngsters are compelled to use the correct pronouns, be in close intimate contact with penis-possessing 'females' and at least pretend to comply.

Depending on their age/stage/development, some can handle such madness, while others cannot, and it undermines what were solid understandings of reality, biological and biblical truth, etc.

THREE. Our children are not being impacted. They're fine, thanks.

How do you know? We are amazed by what those 'on the ground' in even conservative circles are telling us about the covert 're-thinking' going on around them. Will the leadership find out before it is too late?

Remember how the Gay Choir described the operation of their strategies: 'We'll convert your children, happens bit by bit, quietly and subtly, and you will barely notice it'. Many leaders are inundated with other issues, pressures, crises: it never stops. Such a state of affairs works well for activists, who are delighted that their agenda encounters so little opposition because it is done under the radar. And those who try to raise the alarm are written off as extremists.

And so here, assume nothing. Find out what your own---youngsters and their parents---really think and believe, perhaps doing so anonymously.

Former lesbian English professor, Rosaria Butterfield, commented about why she had felt the need to open her home every Thursday evening to all who cared to come. It was to facilitate more honest, open communication, and best done over pasta and wine.

For Butterfield, 'This is important for professors and pastors alike to do, since both jobs put you out of reach from the very people you think that you know' [emphasis added]. [10]

Most of those who have 'seen the light' either personally and/or in terms of this issue more generally, spend quite a bit of time in prior private soul searching, especially if their orthodox faith was an important part of their life. By the time they finally 'come out', it is too late.

Their church will never know what kinds of battles were fought and lost before they threw in the towel and decided they had to 'move on'. After that, they tend not to be able to hear a different, counter narrative, as they feel they have 'been there, done that, got the T shirt, end of'.

FOUR. We have caring, committed Christian professionals in our congregation and they say nothing about this. If there were problems surely we would hear from them.

This is encouraging news! They may well be in areas which have yet to be 'gayified', or their heads are stubborn and resistant to the bullying of the activists. We have heard of such situations and are thankful for them.

However, as the older generation of teachers retire, say, and younger teachers are brought in who have been through teacher training institutions, the pressure to 'include all' grows.

Sadly, Dr Elly Barnes of 'Educate and Celebrate' (above), has focused on teacher training institutions in her organisation. She knows the importance of 'getting to' youngsters early via the educational system, and that occurs by 'getting to' their teachers.

We have also been told that the only way many Christian professionals survive now is to say nothing or even sign on, hoping that fellow-Christians won't notice their rainbow lanyards or pronouns under their signature.

They just pray that things will somehow change...

FIVE. The only possible hope for society is revival---getting people saved. All other human effort is really wasted, including pushback against CSE.

Though I am sure some maintain this view with integrity, from our experience most of those who espouse it appear to have little engagement with the wider toxic world of CSE. They are not forced to teach it, nor are their children and grandchildren marinated in and damaged by it. They have not lost their jobs because of it. Some have chosen to play it safe.

In response to our concerns, we are told 'it's a joy to suffer for Jesus'. But this has a hollow ring to it. Are those holding these views even supporting the many victims of this revolution here, such as King Lawal (see endnote [5])? King is 'suffering for Jesus': what about them?

Thankfully William Wilberforce did not possess this mindset. He realized that though it was vital to preach the Gospel to slaving entities (and slaves!), the slave trade in itself was egregious in the sight of God, and he was doing God's business in shutting it down.

The same can be said of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who did not try to defeat Adolf Hitler and end the Third Reich by doing the equivalent of running another personal evangelism course. Though important it is irrelevant here.

SIX. The sexually-broken in my church feel bad enough without going into all this. It will only make things worse for them.

Many well-meaning leaders have this fear, and fair enough. However, with respect, if that is your view, then I believe you are not approaching this matter correctly. The church never properly responded to and countered the realities, dangers and damage created by Kinsey's Sex Revolution. Sadly, it is in the very air we breathe: all of us have been influenced.

Many adults suffer because the church refuses to 'go there', engage with the realities, some of which are horrific, and tell the truth about them. Abortion is a case in point, easy divorce and the plagues of serial monogamy (and now polyamory), pornography, and, to a lesser extent, cohabitation, are others.

The above all come with a price tag, though often this inconvenient truth is ignored. Adults need proper education, healing, help and support for their own sexual sins, wounds, traumas, addictions, etc. Not saying is not helping anyone.

So here, an encouragement to engage with the wider pan sexual revolution and its roadkill, deceptive ideologies and worldviews. Use the many excellent resources out there, as well as giving a biblical apologetic. Nothing is ever too hard for God. He heals and takes us forward, regardless of our past.

But here, most importantly, activists are targeting our children and young people with their whole lives ahead of them, and that must stop! We had enough problems growing up in what feels to be another age without this madness being foisted on and coming at us from apparently all quarters.

SEVEN. DADT: Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict, not mine!

We don't take that approach when it comes to many other complex, painful, difficult issues, and even more so in terms of training children 'in the ways of the Lord'. In fact there is a great deal of teaching on these matters, and rightly so.

What makes this area any different?

Final thoughts

My Muslim colleagues tell me that they must speak up for the children. Why? 'One day I will have to give an account of my actions to God'. If only more Christians felt like that!

So here, understand that as you foreground these issues and their ramifications, you will be entering an ideological and spiritual war zone. You may need to go through pain barriers, perhaps several. This move may elicit anger, backlash, criticism, resignations. You may be subject to a never-ending stream of utterly ridiculous, specious but nevertheless powerful accusations. Those who don't abandon you entirely may well distance themselves from you. Expect it.

Your church is already split, though it may not be fully manifest yet. These issues are covertly or openly dividing every religious entity. Pretending that your church can or will sit this one out is, in my view, naïve.

The activists are not giving up. They believe they have the monopoly on goodness, happiness and virtue (I know, I know) while we are the nasty, sour losers and haters who hurt people and want to rain on their parade.

HL Mencken's classic, 'Puritanism -- The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy', comes to mind. [11] Sadly, many youngsters have been conditioned along these lines, and CSE has played a vital role in this conditioning.

How will you respond?

Lisa Severine Nolland, is a Sex Historian, MA, MCS, PhD (Bristol) and CEO, Marriage, Sex and Culture Group, in London. She can be reached here: drlisa1957@gmail.com

[1] https://virtueonline.org/comprehensive-sexuality-education-cse-kids-and-us
[2] Dr Joe Malone, Sarah Harris, Battles of the Sexes: Raising Sexual IQ to Lower Sexual Conflict and Empower Lasting Love (2019)
[3] Laurence Fox, '#Groomed: How Schools Sexualise Your Children' (2022); Sharon Slater, Family Watch International, 'War on Children', ND.
[4] https://massresistance.org/; https://www.medinstitute.org/; https://parentpower.family/; https://www.publicchildprotectionwales.org/
[5] A recent notable instance. As reported by Christian Concern, King Lawal, Tory Councillor, was cancelled by seven organisations, including being suspended by the Conservative Party, and been forced to resign from the family business he had built and grown, for two critical of Pride tweets which most Christians would endorse. Few have risen up to speak out. Thank God for Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre, but where are the rest? https://christianconcern.com/action/stand-with-cancelled-christian-councillor-king-lawal/; https://christianconcern.com/news/councillors-life-torn-apart-for-christian-tweet-on-pride-and-lgbt/
[6] Attributed to Voltaire, though this is in doubt. Some claim it originated with the disreputable White nationalist, Kevin Strom. What is indubitable is that it is self-evidently true.
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYmdu0uj_SY; https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2021/07/gay-mens-choir-performs-song-with-the-lyrics-were-coming-for-your-children/
[8] https://www.newsocialcovenant.co.uk/family/
[9] https://www.educateandcelebrate.org/
[10] Dr Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert(2013).
[11] Though an extreme caricature, this perception is sadly all too common.