Book Review: Professional Sexual Ethics: A Holistic Ministry Approach
The 21 contributors to Professional Sexual Ethics: A Holistic Ministry Approach, edited by Patricia Beattie Jung and Darryl W. Stephens (Fortress, 2013) have diverse biases, but all the essays contribute to the premise that humans, and therefore people who work in ministry, are sexual, so sexuality is part of everything a minister does.
Does US Food Culture Train Our Religious Preferences?
Has necessity turned into a forgetfulness of what goodness tastes like? Have the limitations of necessity trained us to not want to look for better?
Verbalizing My Mission
For my calling, this term indicates the boundaries we learn by being a Christian in the US, at least in the white evangelicalism tradition, which is what I’m most familiar with. Those boundaries are a whole lot of “don’t. I want to be part of freeing people into the “do.”
Travel as Church
It was something about praying for America. There was a time in my life when I would feel like I was a secret cousin to whoever put up that sticker. We’re both Christians! Now, stickers like that make my gut clench.
Delight as Worship
Even though I’m not a scientist and I know far less about the natural world than many of the others in the group, I love being with them because of the open delight. I can’t think of anything else I’ve done where adults unapologetically give themselves over to joy. But What About In Church?
An Unintended Consequence
I had been raised on “no one can make you feel bad except yourself,” … With all that trained into me as if the claims were as true as the rule of gravity, I was flummoxed at why I couldn’t just change my perception and then have a clear mind and feel happy.
Cultivating Imagination
I’ve occasionally had conversations with people who say they like movies better than books because they can actually see what happens. These same people don’t like closed-door scenes because even though they understand what is implied, they say that without seeing it, they don’t know what happens. They say it makes it more real to actually see the action rather than having to imagine it from implication.
Violets, Dandelions, and White Clover
Do you see yourself as a white clover, dandelion, or violet at church?
Consent in Church
My challenge to church leaders and attendees is to start openly talking about the fact that church culture coerces people into experiences that the person does not consent to have.
Money: The Helpers and Givers
The challenge for the money helper type is to give generously because they care for their neighbor, but not because they are trying to manipulate others into liking them.
Money: The Savers and Planners
Christians say that often: Everything comes from God. Is that true or is it just something we say that is a distortion of the truth?
On the Danger of Education
Education is dangerous, y’all. It changes lives for the better. And that is bad for those who want unquestioning, complete obedience.
10 Reasons the Samaritan Woman Might Have Been At the Well
Here is a list of reasons the Samaritan woman might have been at the well in the middle of the day. Notice that none of them have to do with her sexuality.
What Can You Do?
When I start to feel overwhelmed, I tell myself, “You know everything you can’t do. What can you do?”