I’ve never heard a sermon on empire. Certainly never a sermon on America as empire. Genealogy rises to mythic proportions, and phrases, slogans, and chants become air that suffocates. It’s Memorial Day. We’re supposed to remember the people who have died for us. And I know it’s considered improper to talk about death and…
Posts Tagged
bible
Finding Hope in the Drought
When it comes to suffering, I’ve heard Joel 2:25 quoted a lot. “I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten.” Otherwise meant as, Let’s not dwell in the pain. Look for the good. Eventually this will all be rewarded. But what if it isn’t? What if you live locust-ridden…
Smaller Than A Mustard Seed
Choosing People Over Beliefs
I changed my profile picture yesterday. There was some personal backlash from conservative family members. A woman I used to go to church with, and haven’t talked to in years, posted a couple of times yesterday on my wall, explaining to me what the gospel really means, and who salvation is really for. People…
Looking For Trampoline Faith
The first metaphor to challenge my theological views was one of brick walls and trampoline springs. I find myself, all these years later, still longing for springs on a Sunday morning. Churches usually don’t acknowledge different perspectives and interpretations (unless it’s to say how wrong they are), let alone teach them. When you discover…
I’m Coping, Not Healing. (and maybe that’s ok.)
My journey from fundamentalism to freedom has been one of community to isolation, no matter what the church signs say. I’ve gone from being the poster child to a minority. And it’s hard. It’s scary and lonely. Often painful. 6 years of wrestling have mostly been ones of isolation and frustration, because I’m thinking…
It’s Sunday Morning – Time To Wake Up, God
My story is rooted in whispers, conversations behind closed doors, arguments, struggles, isolation, and above all, a certainty that there is only one right way to be a real Christian. My parents came of age in the Shepherding movement, which resulted in their arranged marriage. We stayed in that church until I was 10,…
And I Thought I Knew the Bible
She sat on the very edge of the seat, making sure there was no air between her body and the chair. No hovering, no cheating. Two feet firmly planted on the faded linoleum in the church basement, ready to propel her up in a split second. The adult spoke. “For God hath-” Up she jumped….