Social Justice
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…
Read MoreWhat 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…
Read MoreAttending 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…
Read MoreFundamentalism 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…
Read MoreInconspicuous 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…
Read MoreFive 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…
Read MoreLet’s Talk About Sin…Again
I don’t like to talk about sin, you can read about that here. But I recognize that repentance, remorse, and redemption threads itself through the biblical narrative. I was reading through Psalms 51 of these words, “…blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Hide your face from…
Read MoreTheology, Ethics, and Messy Living Rooms
There has been a lot of wonderful conversation surrounding the topic of hospitality in recent years. Specifically, there is this growing desire for authenticity, inviting others into the real messiness of our lives as symbolized by our messy living rooms. It is more important for people to gather than to have a pristine house, they…
Read MoreWhy Wheaton College and Dr. Larycia Hawkins Matter to Me
My alma mater, Wheaton College, has been embroiled in a controversy regarding one of their tenured professors which has attracted national, and I suppose by the fact that I’m blogging about it, international attention. I won’t rehash the details of the story as it is easily accessible in articles from Chicago Tribune, Time, and NPR.…
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