Mack Griffith

A photo of Mack in a checkered shirt and grey tie, smiling in front of a large wood and glass doorway.

I realized my attraction to females (I’m AFAB, or “assigned female at birth”) when I was 16 years old, and then realized I was FTM transgender when I was 19 years old. I was raised Independent Fundamentalist Baptist, so I believed that being LGBTQ+ was a choice and a sin, and that if someone was LGBTQ+, they were living in sin until they had enough faith in God to repent and change.

Once I realized my own queer identity and I knew it wasn't a choice, I went back to Scripture and studied for months because it became a life or death situation for me. Finally, I came to God and said, "I want to love you and serve you with my entire life, but I cannot do it as a woman. I still want to glorify you no matter what, but can you love me as your son?”

I felt God speak to my heart and say, "Mack, I have known you were my son long before you did, and I love you as you are, unconditionally." I know that God loves me and I may still be just a sinner saved by grace, but my transgender identity doesn't make me a special brand of broken. I am a beloved child of God, and he calls me his son.

There were resources that helped me in my journey. I read “Torn” by Justin Lee, “God and the Gay Christian” by Matthew Vines, and all of the work by Austen Hartke, including his Youtube channel and his book, “Transforming”.

I am still an evangelical Christian, and despite my parents' belief that I am ruining my life and living in sin, when I walk into church now, I walk in as all of me, and I can bring my whole self before God knowing that He sees me as the son I am. I am happier and more at peace with myself, others, and God than ever before.


Unchanged StoriesQ Christian Fellowship