By Heather Clark | christiannews.net

NEW YORK — A man who identifies as the “lead pastor” of a New York City congregation, who believes that in order for Christians to be loving and relevant in society they should accommodate those who identify as transgender, has proposed what he calls a “solution” that would eliminate male and female restrooms altogether.

Ryan Phipps leads Forefront Church in Manhattan, which is part of a dual-location assembly that also has several female co-leaders. According to the Forefront website, the “values of our church community are drawn out of the life Jesus embodied and our desire to emulate Him, so that Christ’s prayer of renewal ‘on earth as it is in Heaven’ may be a reality.”

On Friday, Phipps published a blog post on the website of the Convergence Initiative, “a collective of Post-Evangelical, Progressive Evangelical, Non-Denominational and Free-Church tradition churches, organizations, leaders and networks.”

“We stand against ideologies and systems of privilege that harm and diminish people based on gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, economic status, background, or citizenship,” the “about” section of the site reads.

In his post, Phipps proposes to eliminate male and female restrooms and instead have one “human” restroom. The stalls are separated by ceiling-to-floor walls, and include a personal sink and mirror, as opposed to placing them in a common area outside of the stalls.

“The bathroom interior features fully separated stalls, each equipped with their own toilet, sink, mirror, trashcan, hand dryer, and diaper changing station,” he outlines. “The bathroom exterior features a lounge and entertainment center, making the user feel more comfortable and safe knowing that other members of the public are always close.”

Phipps also proposes installing security cameras outside of the stalls so that the area can be under surveillance. (Click here to read more)