Q and A wtih Paul David Tripp Part 2

Jeff Robinson
September 21, 2009
http://wwwcbmw.org

Following is the second part of a three-part interview with him. Read Part 1.
Paul Tripp is the president of Paul Tripp Ministries, a nonprofit organization,
whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." He is on the pastoral staff at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pa., where he preaches on Sunday evenings and leads the ministry to Center City.

Gender Blog: How specifically do parents combat gender confusion? Do we insulate our children completely from the world?

Paul David Tripp: You ought to want to protect your child from that, but you will never successfully insulate your child. It's nearly impossible for a family living in Western culture not to breathe some of its air. When I think of isolating my children, I tend to think of it in one of two ways: it's sort of like the medieval monastery, which didn't work, or it feels like what Tom Ridge told us to do when there was some concern about a biological attack on America—‘Get a lot of plastic and duct tape.' I was thinking, ‘Are you serious, this is going to keep us safe?' Well, I think there is a whole lot of plastic and duct tape going on in Christian families. I think a better protection is just getting the topic on the table. Be honest with your children. Be honest early and don't stop being honest. Parents need to build relationships with their children where their children know it's safe here for me to talk about all my confusion and for me to ask embarrassing questions. I'll never be mocked. I'll never be made fun of. My parents will never respond in fear and end up grounding me or punishing me. This is a place of safety and grace and patience and we are going to talk our way through all of the confusion and all of the attack and all of the distortions and delusions that are out there. So that means you can't have just one talk about sexuality. You have to open that topic and keep it open and build relationships with their children where they feel safe and comfortable in both talking and listening.

Gender Blog: Is it ever too young to start teaching about gender?


Paul David Tripp: No. I think we would all say the greatest guardian for our children against falsehood is to enculturate them with truth. So, a boy who is taught God's design for a man, a girl who is taught God's design for a woman, will be taught honestly about the dangers and distortions that get all mixed up and blended and will also be taught about the dangers on the far end of a man being a chauvinistic arrogant blowhard—that's not godly—or a girl being so prissy and delicate that she becomes a diva that nobody can touch, which are distortions too. You have to do that in a way that is wholesome and balanced, but wow, we've got to do that. My son is 33 years old, but I would feel a much bigger burden to do that today than I did when he was coming up. That's how much things have changed. We did that, but it's a huge issue now.