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If you are a parent wrestling with God, you are not alone.
When a child comes out as LGBTQ+, Christian parents often find themselves navigating unfamiliar, unsettling terrain. Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets, therapists and researchers with decades of experience, have written this book to provide perspective, insight, and the chance to learn from others who've shared a similar journey. Using data from studies of Christian parents of LGBTQ+ children, they deliver research-based insights and faithful wisdom that is accessible for parents, their friends, and church leaders.
Yarhouse and Zaporozhets reframe the focus away from "culture war" questions that are not helpful to families in favor of practical counsel for maintaining and deepening relationships. Parents and the church leaders who care for them will benefit from understanding key developmental considerations among teenagers and emerging adults who are navigating questions around sexual and gender identity and faith.
Identifying common patterns while acknowledging the uniqueness of each family, here is a book to guide parents in processing their own experiences, beliefs, and relationship with God. They will also discover techniques to reduce fear-based parenting choices and to express love, as the parent-child relationship continues to change and grow over time.
Filled with stories, hard-won advice from Christian parents, and questions for reflection, When Children Come Out is an essential and hopeful resource.
About the author
Mark A. Yarhouse (PsyD, Wheaton College) is the Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College, where he directs the Sexual and Gender Identity Institute. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and author or coauthor of many books, including
Gender Identity and Faith,
Family Therapies, and
The Integration of Psychology and Christianity.
Olya Zaporozhets (PhD, University of Toledo) is an associate professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Regent University. Dr. Zaporozhets is coauthor (with Mark Yarhouse) of
Costly Obedience: What We Can Learn from the Celibate Gay Christian Community. She has diverse clinical experiences and has trained Christian leaders in mental health counseling in Europe and Asia.
Summary
When a child comes out as LGBTQ+, Christian parents often find themselves in unfamiliar terrain. This hopeful resource delivers research-based insights for parents and church leaders, offering stories and advice from other parents while reframing the focus from fear-based choices towards practical counsel for maintaining and deepening relationships.
