One unseasonably warm spring day in Southern California when I was 18 years old, I crammed into a car with 4 or 5 of my closest friends from choir at our Assemblies of God university and drove an hour inland for a concert. We parked in a vast asphalt parking lot surrounded by empty land, … Continue reading Then Sings My Soul
theology
Burdens We Weren’t Meant to Carry
https://youtu.be/fKkQMTm0sY0 "Obsessed" from the film Twister (1996, Universal Pictures) I’ve always loved extreme weather. Not the destruction it leaves in its wake, but the wildness and mystery created by our planet’s atmosphere. Probably why the film that the clip above is from was one of my favorite movies when I was a teenager. I can … Continue reading Burdens We Weren’t Meant to Carry
Identity is (Not) a Sin
Here we are together at the end of this long journey back in time, processing a set of teachings that has left a visible scar across the landscape of millennials and beyond. If you’ve been reading every week since this began, I hope you’ve found comfort and solidarity knowing you’re not alone. If you’ve just … Continue reading Identity is (Not) a Sin
White Christians vs White Atheists: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time on Twitter, you probably know by now I have strong feelings about atheists who pick on Christians. I’m just as critical of elitist atheists as I am of toxic Christian theology and abusive doctrine. But one of the particular behaviors that sets me off is when … Continue reading White Christians vs White Atheists: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
A Seat at the Table
Could one famous pastor use his power for change? This past week’s discourse between ex-evangelicals and Presbyterian pastor & author Tim Keller has left me raw, emotional and resolute. It’s a mixed bag of emotions really. Memories from my past, conversations with pastors or bits of sermons have been floating through my brain as I … Continue reading A Seat at the Table
Why Power Dynamics Matter in Evangelical Spaces
There has been some interesting pushback on some of the responses to Beth Moore’s slow awakening, as it were. And I wanted to take a deeper dive into why this isn’t just a story of a woman in the patriarchy seeing the light for the first time. Beth is not an ordinary white evangelical woman. … Continue reading Why Power Dynamics Matter in Evangelical Spaces
On Today’s Episode of White Christians With Platforms…
Is Beth Moore really deconstructing? The world may never know. It was once said that white evangelical women are the foot soldiers of patriarchy. They put in the work, let me tell you. They write bible studies and Christian self-help books, they go on tour and preach to millions of women and teenage girls all … Continue reading On Today’s Episode of White Christians With Platforms…
One White Pastor vs A Generation of Leavers
It's the battle of the century, and no one is waving a white flag anytime soon. This series of tweets last week came as a barrage of sex-negative, heteronormative word salad from none other than Timothy Keller himself. Pastor, author, theologian, who in the past has not been quite so controversial in the Twitter-verse. He's … Continue reading One White Pastor vs A Generation of Leavers
Tackling Core Beliefs: Sin
Something I've been working on in therapy lately is addressing all the negative things I believe about myself. Those pervasive, absolute truths that provide our default way we feel about ourselves, and ultimately how we view the world around us. Being born into Christianity, some of our core beliefs about ourselves are formed by indoctrination. … Continue reading Tackling Core Beliefs: Sin
The Problem of Grace
"Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav'd a wretch like me!"John newton (1772) Evangelical Christians love to talk about grace. It’s this blanket word, used to comfort and also clobber believers. Not ready or willing to forgive your abuser? You need to offer grace. You made a mistake that caused real harm? Thank goodness … Continue reading The Problem of Grace
The Life She Wrote 