FIGHTING HOMELESSNESS: What comes first? FEBRUARY 16, 2019 Rapid-onset gender dysphoria This year’s social contagion infects teenagers and their doctors CHINA: Expelling missionaries CITIES: Electric scooter invasion VENEZUELA: On the brink CONTENTS | February 16, 2019 • Volume 34 • Number 3 34 21 40 44 48 FEATURES DISPATCHES 7 News Analysis • Human Race 34 Pressure to conform Quotables • Quick Takes LGBT activists are dialing up the heat on parents and CULTURE researchers who question transgender dogma, while peer influence may be leading some teens into life-changing 21 Movies & TV • Books hormone treatments Children’s Books • Q&A • Music NOTEBOOK 40 When a home isn’t enough 53 Lifestyle • Technology Federal homeless policy is based on a flawed, one-size-fits-all Religion • Politics • Law approach, but one agency is ready to try a more intensive strategy VOICES 44 Expelled from China 5 Joel Belz Missionaries say the Communist country is kicking them out, 18 Janie B. Cheaney one by one 32 Mindy Belz 61 Mailbag 48 Scooters at your service 63 Andrée Seu Peterson For-hire electric scooters have arrived in many U.S. cities, and not everyone is happy about it 64 Marvin Olasky ON THE COVER: Illustration by Krieg Barrie Give the gift of clarity: wng.org/giftofclarity Choose a faculty When you choose a seminary, you choose a faculty. At Southern Seminary, you’ll study with professors like Thomas R. Schreiner, who has written more than 25 books on New Testament and biblical theology. Our professors are trusted for their commitment to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which bleeds through their scholarship and ministries. Your degree will carry the weight of that trust. sbts.edu/world Thomas R. Schreiner Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Biblical Theology Choose a faculty When you choose a seminary, you choose a faculty. At Southern Seminary, you’ll study with professors like Thomas R. Schreiner, who has written more than 25 books on New Testament and biblical theology. Our professors are trusted for their commitment to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which bleeds through their scholarship and ministries. Your degree will carry the weight of that trust. sbts.edu/world Thomas R. Schreiner Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Biblical Theology Notes from the CEO “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein.” —PSALM 24:1 On the day I write this, we have seven people on our relatively small staff who Chief Content Officer Nick Eicher Editor in Chief Marvin Olasky R have worked at WORLD for more than 25 years. By the time you read it, retire- Senior Editor Mindy Belz ments will reduce that number to five. Two beloved staff/friends/WORLD family members are retiring at the end of the Editor Timothy Lamer month, and, for me, the reality is just starting to settle in. It’s one thing to figure out National Editor Jamie Dean Managing Editor Daniel James Devine how we’re going to cover the huge amount of work they both Art Director David K. Freeland Associate Art Director Robert L. Patete leave behind. But the real challenge will be arriving to the office Reporters Emily Belz, Charissa Crotts, and not seeing them here. Sophia Lee, Harvest Prude East Asia Bureau June Cheng, Angela Lu Fulton Judy Russell has been our accounting manager for just over Story Coach Susan Olasky Senior Writers Janie B. Cheaney, Andrée Seu 25 years. In that role, Judy has dealt with a lot of things the rest Peterson, Lynn Vincent Correspondents Sandy Barwick, Megan Basham, of us don’t think about. Most of us here are blissfully unaware of Julie Borg, Anthony Bradley, Bob the many small daily details of making the business work, finan- Brown, Michael Cochrane, John Dawson, Juliana Chan Erikson, cially speaking. The reason we’re blissfully unaware, usually, is Katie Gaultney, Charles Horton, Mary Jackson, Sharla Megilligan, that Judy just handles those things. Jill Nelson, Henry Olsen, Arsenio Orteza, Jenny Lind Schmitt, Personally, for the first five years of my own employment Russell St. John, Marty VanDriel, Jae Wasson here, I worked with Judy more closely than anyone else. She was WORLD to me, and Mailbag Editor Les Sillars I’m glad, because I’m not sure there’s any more positive expression of the culture of Executive Assistant June McGraw Editorial Assistants Kristin Chapman, Amy Derrick, the place. Judy represents everything good about working here. Mary Ruth Murdoch Graphic Designer Rachel Beatty Now a word about June McGraw. Perhaps you’ve heard a Illustrator Krieg Barrie longtime employee referred to as “an institution.” June was an Digital Production Assistants Arla J. Eicher, Dan Perkins institution before WORLD was. She came along 37 years ago, before Joel Belz was CEO, before WORLD Magazine was even Website wng.org Executive Editor Mickey McLean an idea. Since then, she’s been holding the place together. Managing Editor Lynde Langdon Assistant Editor Kiley Crossland I say that only a little bit facetiously. It seems June does a Reporter Onize Ohikere thousand important things, and more than 900 of those things Correspondents Rachel Lynn Aldrich, Anne Walters Custer, Laura Edghill, Samantha nobody else even knows about. And June set the standard at the Gobba, Rob Holmes, Bonnie Pritchett, Julia A. Seymour office for reliability—arriving every day before 7:30 in the morn- Editorial Assistant Whitney Williams ing, even some days when the rest of the town was shut down with snow or ice. It has been extraordinary to witness these two women so faithfully steward the Website wng.org/radio Executive Producer/Cohost Nick Eicher gifts God gave them, and we are grateful that God called them to use their gifts here. Managing Editor J.C. Derrick Judy and June, I don’t know what we’ll do without you. Don’t change your phone News Editor Leigh Jones Cohost Mary Reichard numbers. Reporters Paul Butler, Kent Covington, Sarah Schweinsberg Correspondents Mary Coleman, Laura Finch, George Grant, Kim Henderson, Cal Thomas, Emily Whitten Producers Johnny Franklin, Carl Peetz (technical), Kristen Flavin (field) Kevin Martin Listening In Warren Cole Smith, Rich Roszel [email protected] Chief Executive Officer Kevin Martin Founder Joel Belz Development Pierson Gerritsen, Debra Meissner, HOW TO CONTACT US Andrew Belz, Sandy Barwick To become a WORLD Member, give a gift membership, change address, access other Administration Kerrie Edwards member account information, or for back issues and permission … Marketing Jonathan Woods Advertising Partnerships John Almaguer, Kyle Crimi, Email [email protected] Kelsey Sanders Member Services Summer Dodd Online wng.org/account (Members) or members.wng.org (to become a Member) KIDS’ AND TEENS’ PUBLICATIONS Phone 828.435.2981 within the U.S. or 800.951.6397 outside the U.S. Website wng.org/children Monday–Friday (except holidays), 9 a.m.–7 p.m. ET Publisher Howard Brinkman Write WORLD, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-9998 Editor Rich Bishop Back issues 828.435.2981 world journalism institute Website worldji.com Reprints and permissions 828.253.8063, ext. 427 or [email protected] Dean Marvin Olasky Edward Lee Pitts Follow us on Twitter @WORLD_mag Associate Dean Follow us on Facebook @WORLD.Magazine BOARD of directors John Weiss (chairman), William Newton (vice chairman), WORLD occasionally rents subscriber names to carefully screened, like-minded organizations. If you would prefer Mariam Bell, Kevin Cusack, Peter Lillback, Howard Miller, not to receive these promotions, please call customer service and ask to be placed on our DO NOT RENT list. R. Albert Mohler Jr., Russell B. Pulliam, David Skeel, David Strassner, Ladeine Thompson, Raymon Thompson MISSION STATEMENT WORLD (ISSN 0888-157X) (USPS 763-010) is Published biweekly (24 issues) for $69.95 per year by God’s World Publications, Biblically objective journalism that informs, (no mail) 12 All Souls Crescent, Asheville, NC 28803; 828.253.8063. Periodical postage paid at Asheville, NC, and additional mailing educates, and inspires offices. Printed in the USA. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. © 2019 WORLD News Group. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WORLD, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-9998. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VOICES Joel Belz hearts we have no intention of adjusting our lives once we find the answer. We’re just intellectualizing. Like the Pharisees, we’re often much more interested in proving our own point of view than we are in discovering God’s truth on a matter. When that’s our position, Jesus says He’s not interested in providing a response. He Tax time holds His wisdom for those who ask with sincerity. Second: Jesus doesn’t offer cheap answers. interrogation What the Pharisees desperately wanted was a JESUS DOESN’T OFFER CHEAP ANSWERS TO smartphone that would let them figure with certainty how much belonged to Caesar and PHARISEES—OR TO US how much to the Temple. Then they could add those calculations to all Now that you’ve got your W-2 form in their other rules and R hand but are feeling increasingly guilty regulations. that you haven’t got around to your tax We’re still looking return yet (you still have two months to for that app that will go!), take a fresh look at one of the crunch all the pro- Bible’s most famous passages about phetic references of taxes—Matthew 22:15-22. Daniel and Ezekiel, Except that I’d like to suggest merge them with here, as I have from time to time, the price of oil that when Jesus delivered His short futures in Iran, “Render unto Caesar” speech, He help us identify the had something other than taxes or Antichrist, and church-state relations in mind.