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
white evangelicals
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
Honey, I’m (Not) Home
Purity Culture Part IV: Gender roles within purity culture and beyond. Heteronormative: “of, relating to, or based on the attitude that heterosexuality is the only natural expression of sexuality.” This term will be used ad nauseam over the last two parts of this series. Mostly due to the fact that evangelicals have built their entire … Continue reading Honey, I’m (Not) Home
Are You (Not) the One?
Purity Culture Part III: Shame and Sexuality in Relationships We’ve made it to Part III in this five-part series on purity culture and how it impacted a generation. With every week that passes I think I’ve already read the most damaging tactic, the most tragic story, the most heartbreaking statistic, until I realize I have … Continue reading Are You (Not) the One?
(Not)That Kind of Girl
Part I: A purity culture prologue. First of all, I want to thank you, dear reader, for coming on this journey with me. When I first announced on Twitter and Instagram that I was starting this series, so many of you responded with your stories and solidarity. If I’m being real with myself, I’ve been … Continue reading (Not)That Kind of Girl
An Unfair Review
An Unfair Review of The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr I thought the title should just reflect what white evangelical critics of my work will probably call it. I’m all about the preemptive strike. So here goes... When I first heard about this book, the title made me hopeful. When I heard … Continue reading An Unfair Review
Politeness as a Weapon
Whether they're silencing women or leavers, white evangelicals will do anything to protect their reputation and the patriarchy. “Why are men?” I ask this question no less than fifty times a day on Twitter. But what I’m really asking is: Why are men always demanding politeness from women, and then get defensive when we refuse … Continue reading Politeness as a Weapon
The Perfect Storm
Rachel Hollis and her destructive wake of fake feminism. It’s not the first time author & speaker Rachel Hollis has had negative press in her (relatively short) career thus far, and probably not the last. But on Thursday, the New York Times published an exposé of her wild rise to fame in 2018 that culminated … Continue reading The Perfect Storm
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
The Life She Wrote 