I sat down one afternoon with another youth leader and two teenage girls who disagreed with what I was teaching about sex and gender.
As a freshly minted seminary grad, I figured they were, on the whole, rather lucky to be in the presence of someone with all the answers. Carefully, methodically, I explained to them the gospel: God, sin, Jesus, substitutionary atonement, salvation by faith. When I finished, they looked at me as though I’d given them a long sales pitch on chocolate.
“We already believe all that,” they replied, in the strained tone of teenagers trying to be patient with an adult.
When I got home that evening, I knew I was missing something. I had the answer. Jesus is always the answer. I even had a specific version of the answer: “find your identity in Christ.” But I realized that had become merely another piece of Christian jargon, the W.W.J.D of the 2010s. What does it mean to find your identity in Christ?
For that matter, what is an identity? This is the crucial question of our time because if we think in terms of historical eras, we can summarize the last two thousand years as follows: Graeco-Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Self-Actualization. The twentieth century ushered in the age of Self.
Living in the Age of Self
All of our identity-charged controversies tumble out of this Age of Self. People fight on the battle lines of the culture wars (sex, gender, race, politics, technology) only after they’ve made a long ideological march to get to that battle line. For the past couple generations now, that ideological march is the journey towards self-actualization. It is your identity journey.
This means, for example, that Peter the Postman does not wake up one Tuesday morning and decide that he is in fact a woman and will start wearing dresses. That final decision comes through a process similar to converting your garage into a master suite. What will draw your neighbors’ attention is when you start ripping up the ceiling and walls to bring in wiring and HVAC, but there are a lot of thoughts, desires, dreams, and conversations that came before the demolition.
A woman’s gender or sexuality decision is the obvious, outward manifestation of many thoughts, desires, dreams, and conversations she’s had in pursuit of self-actualization. Part of our problem today comes from fixating on the fruit of sex and gender while ignoring the roots of formational identity questions. It’s like we keep trying to get people to turn around and go to New York as they’re on a plane descending into Tokyo.
My doctoral dissertation focused on finding and providing biblical answers to the formational questions. How does someone develop a sense of identity? How can you be authentic and free? How can you remain true to yourself while becoming a better version of yourself?
Becoming Your Best Self (the process formerly known as sanctification)
Reformed Christians tend to chafe at the term self-actualization and tire of people obsessing over identity. That reaction comes from a good place. We want Christians to talk about Jesus, and to love other people instead of “self-expressing” on social media. But in the process, we’ve made self-discovery a punch line.
“Finding yourself” was something for hippies in the ‘60s on LSD. “Being true to yourself” is something Gen-Zers talk through in their thousandth therapy session. Either way, Christians have a superiority complex to all this self-exploration stuff that’s stunting our witness and overlooking our heritage.
It was Augustine after all who, in his book Confessions gave us the genre of memoir. In a book that has shaped Christianity for over fifteen hundred years, he went on a deeper dive into the self than Freud or Jung ever have. Augustine believed the pathway to transcendence comes through gaining perspective on yourself and your place in the grand redemptive scope of God’s work.1 That’s awfully self-focused. The secular drive for self-actualization is simply a twisted version of Christianity’s ancient quest to discover and recover your best self.2
Followers of Jesus are “being transformed into the likeness of Christ, from one degree of glory to the next” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christians need to lead in our world by painting a compelling picture of what Spirit-filled identity construction (sanctification) looks like. Charles Taylor, Carl Trueman, Brian Rosner, and Paul Tautges have already done great work in this field.
In my book in progress with the Good Book Company, with the working title Your Jesus Self (Winter 2025), I hope to add to this stream. I’m addressing Gen-Z and younger millennials who are curious to know the biblical vision of how you become your best self. Who are you? Where are you going? How does God get you there? The younger generation (and the rest of us) need a stable sense of self combined with an excitement about how God is shaping you and your future.
Jesus came to save you, which means renewing you into who you were meant to be. The gospel is the story of self-actualization our world is looking for. My hope is that this book tells some of that story.
20 comments
Douglas Duncan
A couple of interesting articles I recently handed out to the adult Sunday School class on the heretics. The subject was the reason for the after-the-fact inclusion of “of one substance” in the Nicene Creed. We were discussing substance and these two articles, one Wall Street Journal and one New York Times, were printed and called the substance of a person and substance of the universe into question. The Nothing That Is Everything by Andrew Crumey What Makes You ‘You’? by Eric Schwitzgebel D2
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Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Doug. Really fascinating stuff. What exactly makes the substance of a human? It’s a hard and complex question, but one that definitely needs objective truths as well as subjective.
Al Erisman
If you take on this book I would encourage you to talk with Preston Sprinkle, also in Boise. You may have a different angle than he does, but he has written persuasively and biblically on the topic. Al
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks so much, Al. I will definitely try to connect with him!
Karlen Kochar
I can sense that this book is going to be SIGNIFICANT.. it is already touching a nerve in me. Bill died 5 years ago… I have no immediate family. I have made attempts at defining WHO AM I now…? And after the sermon last Sunday I came to the realization that I MUST RELY ON THE HOLY SPIRIT to show me how to live now… who I am…I know theoretically but not practically in terms of relationships, use of time…I have identified as a teacher for about 55 years… but this is my last year of teaching online! So no more “ career”, no family.. what?! Keep writing Justin! Blessings!
Justin N. Poythress
Mmhm – thanks for sharing Karlen. That makes a lot of sense. The reality is all of us go through shifting identities based on our roles and relationships, which makes it so crucial to try to hold onto that stability in Jesus. Thanks for the encouragement!
Marty Sudac
Justin, I’m delighted to hear and read a bit about your book. I’m looking forward to delving into it later in 2025. Grace and peace to you, your family and your flock! Marty
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks so much Marty! I will hopefully be posting soon some excerpts on my blog that don’t make it into the book. I’d love to hear any thoughts!
Laura Westercamp
Justin! Congrats on your upcoming book – this is such a needed topic at this time! I love your perspective on this and the way you’re framing it!! Liz didn’t tell me you were starting a book- amazing!
Hope you’re all doing well after the fun birthday marathon!
I can’t believe Sophia is 1! 
She is so cute! Blessings, Laura
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks Laura! I had no idea you were reading these! Thanks I started doing some of this study back in 2018, so it’s encouraging for me to feel like it’s not already outdated haha! It is crazy it’s been a year! The birthday marathon has been for real this year–but a lot Liz’s work really
February is definitely a full month. Hope you guys are well!
Karlen Kochar
This is absolutely spot on. You are piercing through to the ROOT of the problem.
Can’t wait to read the book!
Godspeed,brother!
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks so much, Karlen. We have some really deep identity instability (myself included) that Jesus fixes. The rest is just how that comes out.
Jim Pletscher
This sounds so interesting, Justin, and so very needed. I’ve never been very interested in history, but the older I get, the more fascinated I am by it, and observing the major movements of perspective over the last 2000 years is telling. I always appreciate your observations in your blog posts and look forward to reading the book!
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks very much, Jim. I will admit a heavy debt to both Trueman and Charles Taylor who did a lot of historical work trying to ground some of our modern identity-self perspective. I’d certainly love any feedback. I’m planning to start posting excised or expanded writing that didn’t make it in the manuscript.
Kathryn Perdue
Looking forward to your book!Sent from my iPhone
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Kathryn!
wedgare69fec132a
Hi Justin
This is great stuff. If you ever want to discuss any of it I am available! I taught an entire course on Taylor, and have written. Some on identity politics.
Blessings
Bill
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Justin N. Poythress
Thanks so much, Bill. I would love to hear your thoughts. Let’s talk soon.
Stephen
Well, I AM …..your friend….I need be nothing else….here, for you when you need an ear…love you my son.
As I hold on to my faith; Jesus; you are holding on to me!
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Steve!