Blog
Attending a White Conference – Follow Up
“This conference isn’t made for me,” my new friend Drew says to me by the fireplace in Calvin College’s Prince Conference Room at the Festival of Faith & Writing. “It isn’t made with my needs in mind.” I nod in understanding, because of course it wasn’t. It was presented for the majority white people who…
What I’m learning – Intersectionality
I heard someone say that facebook is who you went to school with and twitter is who you wish you went to school with. It was on twitter where I first learned of the term “Intersectionality.” Most of the people I follow on twitter are 120% smarter than me, so often it’s like cracking open…
Attending a White Conference
In less than two weeks, I am flying halfway across the world to attend a writing conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am thrilled in many ways to learn at the feet of seasoned writers, meet fellow writers, but mostly it feels really empowering to invest in a costly trip like this for my own…
That Time I Hated Someone
Growing up conservative Christian there were a lot of protocols. Christian culture can be very formulaic. There were the prayers you had to pray a certain way, the testimonies of prescribed narratives that you told, and cookie cutter advice you gave to people in crisis. One particular policy procedure was how to proceed when you…
Strangely Dim
In many ways I have become extremely progressive and, gulp, liberal. That’s why I surprise myself when conservative evangelical lingo, prayers, songs, tumble out of me as naturally as if I still recite them every day. And it’s not just the ease and familiarity with which I utter them that is unexpected, but that these…
Fundamentalism is Boring
Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination. ~ BJ Miller As I continue to work on my Raising Children Unfundamentalist project, concocting antidotes for the toxicity of bad religion, among the most potent ingredients found in my brew is that of imagination. I have decided that what makes fundamentalism so vile is…
Inconspicuous Hope
“Whenever I’m approached by an evangelist – by a Christian missionary – I know I’m up against someone so obsessed and narrowly focused that it will do me absolutely no good to try and explain or share my own value system. I never want to be rude to them, of course, but never have any…
Five Reasons to Reconsider Gender Specific Ministry
I don’t have a problem with a fun ladies’ night out. Some girl friends and I get together on a regular basis, we call ourselves the ATP (Afternoon Tea People) and we have a great time. I also write for a sisterhood blogging collective over at SheLoves Magazine where I have loved the fellowship I have…
You are Raising a Good Kid
Big congrats to fellow Christian blogger, Rachel Held Evans, and her husband for the arrival of their baby boy. Rachel has helped me and so many others put words to our faith evolution, and as she becomes a mother, I am selfishly hopeful she will share some of her reflections on parenting with shifting faith….