Our Father who is an includer. He brings people into relationship, He seeks people out, He initiates, and in order to grow in His likeness we must do the same.
Too often we relate more like distant relatives discovered on 23 & me than family as the scriptures define us.
If we are going to be bodies where single people, LGBTQ people and families all thrive together, we must intentionally encouraging couples and families to expand their definition of family. Involving others in their families in meaningful ways. This is more than simply being in a small group with a single person and seeing them once a week.
Read MoreThe feeling of community is a powerful force to draw people into our church bodies and ultimately towards a relationship with the Living God. Have you ever taken a long look in the mirror at relationships and community inside the church that you attend? Do people gather together? Do people work out conflict well? Are people loved well? As yourself these questions before you consider inviting others in.
Read MoreFor me, an extrovert with a lot of words, I’ve made countless stupid comments and a million judgments, I’ve spoken some of those judgments aloud, and I’ve said some outright hurtful things. I could just decide that I’m done talking but I honestly think a better path is to be able to lovingly address what I’ve said and done and then work on some internal change in me.
Read MoreWhen someone is experiencing gender dysphoria, they are uneasy, unhappy, and dissatisfied with the gender that they see in the mirror. Every time they look into the mirror. Every day. This discomfort is felt in varying degrees. Let that sink in for a moment.
Read MoreHave you ever had the change to revisit a place that marked and changed you? I have, just this week, and it has prompted a lot of introspection on how drastically the lord has changed me over the years. Like the Grinch, my heart was at least three sizes to small. Slowly, it has grown and learned to love.
Read MoreThink for a moment about how you would define femininity or masculinity. Can you come up with a definition that you would say comes primarily from Scripture? Hard, isn’t it? Society has ingrained ideas about gender that are hard to disentangle.
Read MoreThe letters that make up the LGBTQ are sexual identity labels (with the exception of the “T” for transgender—which is a gender identity label—I’ll talk about this next week!).
Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. Queer.
I like to write as I talk—simply. So hopefully, these explanations will be simple and to the point. Though I would love feedback if you have thoughts on a better explanation!
Read MoreThere is so much to lament in and around us. I’ve seen the Father pull me to stillness so that I can begin to sorrow.
I hope to share a bit of how learning to lament has been deepening my appreciation for God’s faithfulness, calling me towards hope, and working itself out in thankfulness.
Read MoreFor years now, I’ve been drawn to the word hesed. God’s faithfulness. A word, scholars say, that cannot really be described by one English word. Benevolence, loving kindness, mercy, steadfast love . . . I’ve heard pastors and speakers sum all of it up to God’s faithful love.
Read MoreRecently an article from the Houston Chronicle entitled “Abuse of Faith” came into my inbox. It is the first in a three-part series regarding sexual abuse by leaders of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. The person that sent this along to me highlighted the portion that explained that while the Southern Baptist Convention excluded churches with females or gay pastors from membership , they had known that sex offenders were still serving and working in their churches.
Read MoreLanguage conveys love. And the attempt to use language correctly goes a longgggg way.
In a conversation a few years ago, I used the phrase gender fluidity correctly in a sentence. The young adult that I was talking to literally stopped and stared at me, and then said, “Thank you for knowing what that means.”
As believers, we’ve held onto some thoughts related to LGBTQ+ folk that are, in many cases, unsubstantiated and wrong. I think we often don't challenge these thoughts because in our minds, the LGBTQ+ community is “out there,” outside of our church walls, people we do not rub shoulders with, people not “like us.”
Read Moreas evangelicals, we often live in fear of being called “affirming”. And that needs to stop. We should know our doctrine and be able to articulate it well and invitingly. But we need to stop fearing the opinions of those around us and start loving people.
Read MoreNone of us enters this conversation as a blank slate. We hear the simple statement “I’m gay” and thoughts pop into our minds. And those thoughts determine how we act. So to change our actions we must confront our thoughts.
Read Morea friend challenged me once saying, “Isn’t the goal the same for both of us? We are both pursuing holiness.” But often in church, and in my mind, holiness was spelled “heterosexual.”
Read MoreDoes God want anyone to experience same -sex desire? Would He remove it if they asked sincerely?
Read MoreIs the church in opposition to gay people? Does the church hate gay people (as my gay friends would say)? And how have we gotten to the place where this is thought of the church?
Read MoreEven though I had not grown up in the church, I had been there since my early 20’s, and somehow, I had been trained in the thought that experiencing homosexual desires was a choice and could easily be turned off and on.
Read MoreI realized a few years back that we never come into a situation with a blank slate. No matter what room or space I walk into, I come with a host of ideas, preconceived notions and biases- good and bad.
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