Counter-Formation

A Counter-Formation Guide that explores God's good, true, and beautiful vision of gender and sexuality.

 A Counter-Formation Guide

The Purpose of the Guide

We are all being formed. Our desires, beliefs, and habits are shaped by our environment, what we read and watch, the relationships we engage in, where we go, and what we do. We can either be formed towards the way of Jesus or away from it.

Questions around gender and sex are common in our day. In the swirl of cultural confusion, it’s easy to feel disoriented and unsure of who to trust. Fortunately, the Bible contains both timeless and timely insights into the meaning and purpose of our gender and sexuality. In this Counter-Formation Guide, you are invited to explore the truthfulness, goodness, and beauty of the Christian sexual vision.

Pick up your copy with your community group leader the week of September 8!

Leading the Guide

If you are a leader hoping for some helpful instructions on how best to plan and prepare to lead through the guide, learn more here.

Using the Guide

Eight Trainings

The mission of Frontline Church is multiplying gospel communities that love God, love people, and push back darkness. Our community groups are one of the primary places we live out this mission. The guide contains eight training sessions you can work through together as a group over two semesters. The first four sessions are on gender, and the remaining sessions are on sex. Each session includes a brief Bible discussion, a ten-minute teaching video, discussion questions, and an exercise.

Forty Daily Liturgies

In addition, the guide contains an introduction to prayer and Bible reading and 40 daily liturgies for you to work through individually over the course of eight weeks. These daily liturgies are designed to be used as an aid to your time of devotion. Each daily liturgy contains a brief call to worship, two Scripture readings, a prayer of confession and assurance, a benediction, and a blank page for notes. 

Training Videos

Part I: Gender

Fall 2024

Part II: Sex

Spring 2025

 Recommended Resources

Gender

• “Beautiful Difference: The (Whole-Bible) Complementarity of Male and Female” by Andrew Wilson
• enGendered: God’s Gift of Gender Difference in Relationship by Sam Andreadas
• “Godly Roles and Relationships: Ephesians 5:21-6:9,” Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture by David Powlison

Body

• Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body by John W. Kleinig
• Embodied: Living as Whole People in a Fractured World by Gregg R. Allison
• What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves by Sam Allberry

Masculinity

• No Apologies: Why Civilization Depends on the Strength of Men by Anthony Esolen
• A Guide to Biblical Manhood by Randy Stinson and Dan Dumas
• The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men by Richard D. Phillips
• Masculine Virtue Resources, frontlinechurch.com/masculinevirtue

Femininity

• The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory by Abigail Favale
• (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ by Abigail Dodds
• Jesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord by Rebecca McLaughlin
• Feminine Virtue Resources, frontlinechurch.com/femininevirtue

Transgenderism

• God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say about Gender Identity? by Andrew T. Walker
• Does God Care about Gender Identity? (TGC Hard Questions) by Samuel D. Ferguson
• How Should We Think about Gender and Identity? by Robert S. Smith

Sex

• “The Gospel and Sex” by Timothy Keller
• Beautiful Union: How God’s Vision for Sex Points Us to the Good, Unlocks the True, and (Sort of) Explains Everything by Joshua Ryan Butler
• Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? by Sam Allberry
• Making All Things New: Restoring Pure Joy to the Sexually Broken by David Powlison
• “Sexual Morality,” Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

Singleness

• 7 Myths about Singleness by Sam Allberry
• Redeeming Singleness: How the Storyline of Scripture Affirms the Single Life by Barry Danylak
• The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church by Danielle Treweek and Kutter Callaway

Marriage

• The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy and Kathy Keller
• Redeeming Sex in Marriage: How the Gospel Rescues Sex, Transforms Marriage, and Reveals the Glory of God by Scott Mehl
• Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel by Ray Ortlund
• This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence by John Piper

Homosexuality

• Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions About Jesus, the Bible, and Same-Sex Sexuality by Sam Allberry
• Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next by Rachel Gilson
• Mere Sexuality: Rediscovering the Christian Vision of Sexuality by Todd Wilson
• Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill

Parenting

• Gender: A Conversation Guide for Parents and Pastors by Brian Seagraves and Hunter Leavine
• Track: Womanhood: A Student’s Guide to Womanhood by Abigail Dodds
• Future Men: Raising Boys to Fight Giants: Christian Parenting for Bringing up Boys to be Strong Men of Faith by Douglas Wilson
• The Intentional Father: A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character by Jon Tyson

The “God’s Design for Sex” series by Stanton and Brenna Jones is designed to equip parents to have healthy conversations about sex with age-appropriate language and concepts for each stage of development.

• How and When to Tell Your Kids about Sex: A Lifelong Approach to Shaping Your Child’s Sexual Character (Parents Guide)
• The Story of Me: Babies, Bodies, and a Very Good God (Ages 3-5)
• Before I Was Born: God Knew My Name (Ages 5-8)
• What’s the Big Deal?: Why God Cares about Sex (Ages 8-12)
• Facing the Facts: The Truth about Sex and You (Ages 12-16)

Culture and Worldview

• Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution by Carl Trueman
• How to Find Yourself: Why Looking Inward Is Not the Answer by Brian S. Rosner
• Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson
• Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision for Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age by Jonathan Grant
• The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry

Bible Reading

• Read This First: A Simple Guide to Getting the Most from the Bible by Gary Millar
• God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts
• One-to-One Bible Reading by David Helm
• How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart

Prayer

• Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney
• Enjoy Your Prayer Life by Michael Reeves
• A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller
• Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller

THE COUNTER-FORMATION SERIES