And you're listening to live from the Path coming from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston, Trevor. Who is acting like a juvenile? Apparently, I got a lot of sass in my eyebrows that I just wasn't aware of. I don't know what that means. I feel like I feel like the hat might might really frame it up. Yeah. And make it seem like it's a lot more than I I wanted to. You wanna boob is like a he's like a metaphor. Like, have you ever tried to capture air in a bag? Like, you think it's gonna be like a hot air balloon. Like, you're gonna whip it around the room, and then the bag will become full, and you will instantly seal it. And then there will be a pressurized airbag. But once you've done it and seal it up, there's nothing in the bag. Oh. And then you're it's just a full blown disappointment.

That is how I feel about Poohah. Wow. I'm going to therapy recently for my self esteem and my self worth. About when Mike says that I'm a I'm a disappointing bag of air

that just turned out to not actually be anything. It's not often. You had no value to my life. When I feel compared to a bag of nothing

that you were super excited about. Like, the activity of acquiring it felt great. This has a lot of potential. You got it. There was no sustenance to it at all. No. It was just a bag of air and a dude with some sassy eyebrows. This metaphor is like the gift that keeps on giving. I was I was real worried about it, actually. I didn't follow what I was why are you trying to capture air in a bag? Yeah. I'm not certain why you're trying to grab the sky in your Ziploc, but whatever. I gotta have it tested for allergies.

Don't talk about my house. Okay. Hey. Thanks for, joining us on live from the path. We, appreciate you hanging hanging out with us this week. So here's what we got on the docket. So I did there were a couple interesting things, in the old news. So first of all, and everybody loves this one, social media influencer

Ollie London has detransitioned after converting to Christianity. So I this is in this is an interesting thing because the question is if we think God is is present

in these types of situations, and then the the the question is is, like, what are the like, one, we can't be surprised that God is working in those. And then what are the implications for folks of which this is actually happening? Because, like, it's it's a super precarious position,

to to be someone who I I guess if you wanna think of the modern winds of culture celebrating your life choices and then finding yourself on the opposite side of that freaking hurricane. That's gotta be a rough that's a rough toe.

And and it's interesting to think about, just in general, countercultural life choices. Like, things when the rest of the world looks at you and goes and and and goes, there's no way, man. You're like, you were we were for you, and now we are, like, so against you Right. As a as a block of folk. And so, interesting. I kinda wanna read the article, and just give it a little bit of a of one, some exposure and then just kinda talk through some of the implications of that.

Also and we it's been a while since we're talking about this, but, like, Sadie Robertson, is are you familiar with this person? Yeah. And she wanted the duck dynasty Yes. Child. Yes. That's right. So Yep. Sadie Sadie Robertson. Huff.

She warns the church that modesty culture can be dangerous and, and push people away. And so we'll get into some of the details of that. We've always says modest is hottest.

There's an interesting spot, and maybe I saw this at my own house a little bit around like, when it comes when it comes to kids what are you laughing at? Is it because He's he's doing the bag of air again. No. He's he's he's pretending to be the deflating bag of air that is my existence. Don't make the wind noise in here. I'm against that. Gives me the giggles. Anyway,

like, there there is a notion, maybe just in my mind of, like, kids rebelling against what feels like conservative Christianity.

And and I I I don't know. I don't know if I have a warning here or not. If it's just like, well, I mean, I mean, people be rebelling, or is there a way that we go about this that otherwise like, it feels like you're doing a good thing for your kid, but, like, you're setting them up for rebellion. And, like, I like, have we is that possible? Is there ways in which she we can we can rightly talk about what is good?

And there are ways to go about it, which otherwise kind of just springboards up a roam springer. Ready. So anyway, I, I kind of wanted to talk through that. Also we got some advice on dear life from the path, Mike, any, any heads up on these struggle, trouble in all the lands. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of what I figured. Okay. So, this is from crosswalk.com, a, a website that otherwise tallies jaywalking.

Social media influencer, Oli London, has detransitioned after converting to Christianity. A popular social media influencer has undergone a radical transformation after he surrendered his life, Jesus Christ, during a season he identified as a transgender What? Bubba, you heard this word? I have no idea. Okay. We talked about this person before, didn't we? Mm-mm. No. I don't think so. Okay. Maybe in your other Changing genders with Dan Hudson. Okay. I'm not I'm I'm never

mind. Go ahead. Because it was, I mean, cross changing ethnic and gender. It was it was, like, things. Yeah. It's a it's total it's a buffet of changes. And totally in. It wasn't like, no, really. I feel this way. Like, surgeries and That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Bulu was gonna say something insensitive. Go ahead. I wasn't trying to say something insensitive. I just wasn't certain what the what the original identity was and what the new transgender identity was that they transitioned to. We'll get to that. So let me I'll read the story. Here we go. According to CBN News, Oli London underwent 32 plastic surgeries totaling over $300,000 to make him look like a Korean woman despite being born a white man. Oh, okay. Sorry. Go ahead. Yeah. You sleaze. I mean, that's that's commitment. That's in. No. I I recognize that story more than I recognize the person's name. That's why. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yep. Well, I mean, yeah, mean, the win it's, the the wins are against a

confident white man, probably. Like, it just there there's a lot to be to be to feel like you, oh, this seems seems weird. It's it's the, I'm proud to be who I am in that particular combination. It's like it's it's, the the winds are are against it. He had further planned to travel to Bangkok, Thailand to undergo gender reassignment surgery and to receive breast implants but was convicted by God. It's super interesting to run into this. He said, I was going to church. Now wham.

Reminder. Reminder. Yes. When people walk into your church building and you look at them and go,

what's happening over there? You go, I know what's happening. They're here. They're here, and the word of the Lord is going out and about and let people soak it in. Because what a what a deal for someone in this, who who's who's kind of looking at themselves and looking that it feels like they don't fit who they are

and still feel compelled to go to a church building where, like, they they have to have some conception that, like, this may not be copacetic in here. Mhmm. What a thing. Yeah. And and the church is battling whether we affirm or not affirm. And and how about if we just just let be and and let God do his thing Yes. You know, know, without having to affirm or not affirm. Yes.

Yeah. I mean Wouldn't you rather be in the now let's be in the conversation. Like, there's some things where, like, I I think the the the fireworks happen when you start to press church ceremonies and things like that. Right? But, like, past that Mhmm. I mean, like, who are you there's an arrogance to, like, forcing the process that goes,

eliminating God's time and saying, no. You must be this and right now. Yeah. That's a people problem, not a God problem. I have someone in my congregation who is an alternative lifestyle. I loved this person enough to sit down and say, I want you to know, you're going to hear things that you're going be uncomfortable with, we love you and you're welcome here. Yes. But but we're we're not I'm not gonna change my teaching be you know, to not hurt your feelings. I mean, we wanna make sure we're we're representing God's word, and they they respect it and want that. That's why they're there. Yes. Not just to feel good. That's right. That's super interesting. Right? And I think that should jack with what I've seen just social media stuff,

some Christians description or what they believe to be true about folks who are dealing with concepts of transgenderism and concepts of of even their own we're talking ethnicity in here. We're talking about sexual orientation.

And, like, I I I think it's probably clear at this point that there's there's there's places of break on what we think God says is good and what what feels like something to people, But, like, they aren't these are still these are people. These are deep people. These are people who are created in the image and likeness of God. They are folks who are looking out at a complicated world, feeling complicated and and, sometimes disparate feelings. And so, like like, nobody's a cartoon in here, and we do the world a disservice. We do the gospel a disservice when you you make people flat like this. And so just again, it's a church caution. You just be super careful because you're not this way. Your sin is not this way. Whatever complications you have in your relationship times, like, whatever. Just everyone's doing the same thing. So, anyway, he said, I was going to church, and I was thinking, why am I doing this? What's the reason behind this? God made me the way I am, and I shouldn't be chasing this. It's not right, he told the outlet.

What a gosh. What a thing. That's a that's a big statement. Huge. Yeah. That that spits in the face of a lot of trauma and doubt

and identity crisis that has happened over years to be able to grab ahold of a truth of who you are and just go who god calls you, and that's a huge, huge thing. $103,100,000 dollars trying to be found your not. Name something else that could do that in one swipe. Now now, honestly, like, you know this wasn't done. You're like, this is this was not over. Right? Right. As in as in having to deal with past traumas and having to look and see what life looks like going forward. But, like, name one other drive by, like, god moment that could replicate the same thing where god just shows up and goes, come on. You know what's true about you? Listen to me. And then you you're like, okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I'm I'm I'm in. Well and and you know what's super interesting about that too is because, like, one of the core questions is, like, people searching to to feel like their physical expressions

we talk about this a lot in church. Right? They like, the the insides match the outsides. The things that you're feeling, thinking, doing match. And so, like, I'll talk about them a lot when it comes to, like, things that we're uncomfortable with in a Western culture, like bowing when you pray, putting your arms when you're worshiping, even anointing with oil. Like, they're not magic physical things. They're things that say, like, when you're praying for God's focused attention, you put the oil on the forehead as a as a physical expression of what you're feeling or asking for in God inside. You bow in prayer, not because it's magical to bow in prayer, because you're humbly approaching God and your body is doing the same thing. It's it's it's merging

the in the innies and the outies as this boomer likes to talk about. K? So insides and outsides. And so, like, that that so think of that. That's a Western problem with Christianity, with religion. And that's the same thing that we're talking about here is, like, I feel like I am more this masculine, feminine, attracted to this type of person or these types of personality traits or whatever that is. And so, like, you can fix that can be rectified without the presence of Jesus if you can find a way for someone to go, you know what? I wasn't comfortable with who I am, but now I am.

But to be honest, I've not to Mike's point, I've not actually seen that happen outside of trusting that there is an authority that is bigger than me who can say such a thing. Yep. Because otherwise I'm dependent on the opinion of other people, on the fickle opinion of myself, on what I think of me. Yeah. And so, like, it's it's interesting because God did two things. He not only worked on what it looks like to acknowledge a God of the universe and a creator,

but he also gets in there and solves the people level, the human level thing that makes us dissatisfied with ourselves. And we get, we get a relationship with God plus a satisfaction with ourselves that comes with that understanding. It's such a cool, what a cool thing. I wonder how long that took. Yeah. Oh yeah. Like how long was he part of this group

and listening and reflecting? And he went there for a reason. So he knew already something, what he was doing wasn't it something didn't feel right. Yeah. He thought it was, he really invested. He went all the way, but he still knew deep inside this isn't what I thought it was. Maybe, maybe,

maybe it's God, maybe I'll find that at a church. Yeah. And then how long did that take? Cause I'm sure any of us would fight back. We would resist. We'd hear things like, Nope, You guys are just what I thought you were. That's right. Somewhere in there, God broke through and said, no. Just just let me let me be here. Yep. Do you know what do you know what it is? Like like, at what point, like, in your ownership of a vehicle,

do you start buying like seat covers or like steering wheel fancies or like loading it up with air fresheners? Right? Like, you don't start doing that until the car is starting to break

down what it what it had originally. Right? Like a brand new car. Like, you don't instantly go out and buy yourself some Tasmanian devil seat cover. Yeah. Exactly. Or like a fuzzy steering wheel. Like Yeah. You look at your steering wheel. You're like, this is getting gross. We're gonna cover up with this fuzzy thing. Yeah. Right? Or look. We're gonna put seat covers on this thing and and maybe we'll or get new floor mats. That'll really jazz the place up. Right? Yep. Get a new car smell for the new cars. You know? Right. Right. That's right. My my 1996 Corolla is a new car. That car smells like queso. I need to get some Christmas trees up in here. Right? So, like so, like, the $300 that you threw against, like, these new, you know, these new accoutrements for your rig, it's it ain't brand new and you know it. Right? You know it. And so, like, I look at a lot of this stuff, like, a lot like that. Right? Like like, after a while, like, there's something about the car or the or the thing that God gave you that starts to it just starts to break down and wear. And instead of taking it back to the dealership and going, put this back to new,

Like, you start trying to solve it with, you know, fancy tire caps or, you know, like like a a new license plate holder or whatever just to make you try to feel better about this thing, but it's not you know it's not quite what it was supposed to be, and you're throwing the best poultry means you have at it to try to get it to be better. And you feel a little bit better about it, but in the end, it's not the rig. It's not the brand new rig that was given to you or that you got. You know? And so, like, a lot of this stuff, like, when I think about it because I think about my own sin the same way. Right? Like, if I'm not taking it back to God to get it fixed or looked at or or or turned back into new, I'm really just trying to, like, make it better to the best of my abilities, which is whatever Walmart's offering for cheap

hubcap liners now that I can just smack on there. And I'm like, look how great these tires look. And, like, I fixed it with a $5 hubcap liner instead of, like, getting new rims for my for my car or getting it put back to the way that it was meant to look. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. You know? And I wonder he was an influencer or he is one. Maybe he isn't now. I don't know. Yep. You kinda crave attention,

you know, this personality does, or he because he kept going with it. Yeah. And maybe that's what led to to all these extra surgeries because he got attention. He got conversation. I went to conference last last week in in Ohio, and I I have, like, a really wild shirt, like a bright color, just just I mean, just It's just unbelievable, Dan. Yeah. Right. I know. It's hard for me to again, mean, this is over the top for me. Right? I mean, every time I wear this shirt, literally,

strangers come up to me and either love it or hate it. It's a shirt that has pictures of Dan in other shirts. It's a tiled shirt of a bunch of his greatest hits of shirts. I'm I'm gonna wear shirt. To get that. That is great. But but I I purposely wore this day one of the conference. Thought, exactly. I'm working a booth. You know? I'm doing this stuff, and and I thought, I'm gonna be a splash. And and it was everywhere I went. People were just had this look of, like, I don't know how to take you. But they looked. Right? Yep. And the like, the one of the last things of the day, I I'm walking back to the room or something, and, like, one of the employees are like, man, I love that shirt. I said, yeah. People love it or hate it. And and I we're talking, and he goes, man, it's not my style. And I said, yeah. It's not mine either, to be honest. But look, we're we're having a conversation. I have conversations all day long Right. Because of the shirt. K. So I went back to the room, and I and I put it away, and I went back to my my, you know, earth tones for the for the rest rest of the week. And I just can't help but wonder if some of these influencers that that's what they're doing. Mhmm. You know? The the I got a surgery. Like, I got my wild shirt. I just I can take my shirt off. Yeah. And and he you get addicted to it because that's why I wear it. I really do. Because I really I really it's it's really an unboxer shirt. But, man, the conversations. That that was that was a game. You know? And and I can't help but wonder he got there. And then but then he's broken because he's done permanent change to his body. Yeah. You know? And the last thing we need to do is push him away because, oh, no. You got this ugly shirt on, and you've messed up yourself. And I don't wanna I don't wanna be seen with you because you're a freak.

And and I'm so glad he found a church that said, hey. Come on in. Yeah. Don't care what your shirt looks like. Yeah. Unlike the Foose boys. Right. Yeah. That's really a Dan Hudson level transformation you got there, friend. Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to come to your church. Let me direct you to this church I'm aware of in Johnston. First of all, look at this shirt. Yay or nay. You can be amongst your kind.

Yeah. Okay. So he continues. He says, God may be the way I am, and I shouldn't be chasing this. It's not right, he told the outlet. I was just experiencing gender dysphoria, and I would have ruined my life and been super unhappy, he continued. He added that finding God and reading the Bible contributed to his detransition. I actually started going to church three months ago. There there's the answer. Three months. There we go. I got yeah. I forgot. And I go several times a week now, Lennon explained. I've been reading the Bible. I've been learning online and watching YouTube videos about the teaching of Jesus, and that has really helped me in my detransition. It made me realize that God made me the way he did, and I should just stick with who I am, be who I am, and just find happiness.

And I think that that part sticks out to me. Maybe if if if if if you anybody that's listening, maybe you've gone through this, you're going through this, and you're in the middle of it, you know people who are, is that, like like, there's gotta be a point where it triggers to say, look, I'm looking for who I am. And if it completely, if it ends up completely replacing you, it can't, it's not you. And, and like, you're not gonna find who you are, who you're created to be

by being somebody else. And I I get it. Like, sometimes there there are there's societal expectations around gender that starts to put you on what feels like a periphery.

I get that. That's a societal limitation. It's not a god problem, that, like, you're a more, feminine fella,

or something like that. Because I I think what What's your point of move? What do mean? Did you see that too? Yeah. I saw it. You're more You're a more effeminate fella. This guy. Like this guy over here in the corner the with the protag on. Beard. He was wearing an apron when he came in today. But,

guess, you know, the the point is is that, like, like, some of the societ the societal pressures are that. It's a fickle society around you, and it's hard to push back. I mean, it's it's peer pressure's been a thing forever, but now it's getting at, like, core things like that. It's not just, hey. Are you wearing the right type of thing? Now we're getting at, hey. Are you the right the gender we expect you to be? Or are you a furry? Yeah. When I so, like, you know, I I I get it. Anyway,

I it's more complicated than what I'm saying. I recognize that. But, like, just as as you think about it, you you you can't find who you're created to be, by becoming somebody else. Like, you are who you are. And I know what it feels like is it feels like what you're doing physically is to try to to match inies and outies. Like, the thing that you feel that you are to, like, your physical appearance. But, like, again, if I can accept just like this this, fella's talking about, if you that God made you the way that you are, then your closest path to happiness is to is to live in that than it is to kinda try to find it somewhere else. Linden further detailed his transition

in a YouTube video titled explaining my detransition. He pushed back on the transgender ideology and shared that the transgender community criticized him for detransitioning. I almost feel like the trans lobby has become a cult, the social media influencer said. I left the trans community, and suddenly they attacked me. They tried to dehumanize me. They call me names online. They compare me to some very horrible people. I saw one tweet comparing me to Hitler, but, you know, I just ignore that, and I don't pay attention to the hate. That's ultra lazy. You know, not everyone can be compared to Hitler. You know I'm saying? Hitler's a pretty enigmatic character with throughout history known for murdering

millions of people. I don't think it's on par with someone detransitioning from whatever gender that they want. You were on our side, and we really appreciated you when you were on our side and and trying to find your identity.

But now that you're adversarial against us in trying to find your identity, but still trying to do the same thing, we hate you and are comparing you to the person who kicked off the Holocaust. Holocaust. Now now to be fair, like, does Christianity suffer a little bit, like, from our from our our reactions to this. Right? Because we would say if you're trying to find your identity in Christ, we, of course, are on your side and completely approve of that. Right? Like and then all of a sudden, if someone says, look. I'm trying to find my identity. It might be found somewhere else. We do, just like a loving parent, look at it and go, that's not where it's going to be. I think this is not gonna end end up providing you what you think it's going to.

I also wouldn't call anybody names that's trying to find Well, so that's the thing. It's like there's there's there's portions of our organization that Oh, there's no doubt about it. Yeah. No. Agreed. You know? And so, like, it it is hard to look at the the worst parts of the Internet and the transgender community and their reactions and not see, you know, some skeletons in our own closet of of people basically not understanding what it looks like to follow Jesus because we don't we don't do that. Yeah. I think that's true. And I think it there there is a different I I I don't know. Maybe I would say there's every group has got what you think is, like, the the vocal pusher, and then you got people who are, like, trying to figure it out. I think Christianity's that way. I I think that's probably true in the transgender community. Of course. Like, every community's got the folks where you're like, you know, that guy that like, these folks are just using me because I I support their or it looks like I contribute to their view of the world. I I don't know. Christians are super prone to this. Like, remember remember, we used to go through, like, article over article every week. There was like, hey. This celebrity mentioned Jesus, and you're like Yeah. We love them, and we should go see all their movies. Kanye just wrote a worship album. That guy was blaspheming.

Like, he didn't say Jesus Christ in a positive notation. Like, you just you just took it out of context and go, he must love him because he said it five times. The group gets painted by the loudest people. Yeah. Right. And so totally, again, I I that's I we we risk this type of this type of article ends up in on a on, like, a Christian site because we're like, oh, see. But like, again, there's just a lot of complication in here. And, we are best served by remembering what the, what the article points out well, which is that God is good and faithful. And there is no such thing as gone

or too far from where Jesus is not gonna follow you and, call you back to him. But, like, this also is one story out of, you know, 10,000 where this the thing is not happening or hasn't happened yet.

And so, like, we have to we live in the gray. We live in the in the coral and and and then the the the mess of trying to figure out who we are as humans. And so, anyway, that maybe that's the encouragement to the church. Like, there's there's there's hope here that that people need Jesus. Jesus works out in face of humans and bad at working out.

Hey. This has been with live from the path. The audio on the rest of the show just got super dicey, so we had to cut it out. I hope you enjoyed the episode. We'll pick back up with you next week. Thank you.