beginnings and blogging...

The beginning of the year always brings me to a place of pondering. 2023 ends and 2024 begins. Often with a sigh of relief!

In 2023, I experienced major changes at camp, church, family, and friendships. Many of these changes included deep losses.

As we flip the calendar page and ‘start fresh’ (at least at Planet Fitness they tell me I’m starting fresh!) I always begin with some intentions for the new season. 

With each new, blank page here in this blogging space, I pray and ask ‘what is there to say’?

A friend asked me this Fall, “do you still feel a passion to love LGBTQ people well and encourage others to do the same?” Absolutely yes.

She followed up with, “has the job been finished, or are other people stepping in and you feel finished”. Absolutely no.

So together we will continue to reason out a biblically based ethic for how we love and relate to other image bearers in ways that reflect God’s generous love.

As we celebrate the national observance of MLK Day, I’m reminded of his call for truth and for individual critical thinking.

Dr King says, “There is an almost universal quest for easy answers, and half baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than the idea of having to think”.

Although he preached this sermon in 1959, the pertinence to today was striking. He talks about using headlines as your “source of truth” and looking to anyone for the answer that we want. Sounds like yesterday to me. 

This is something that I do not want to mark me as a person.

I want to think, and think critically about issues. And I want to love extravagantly. These two extremes blended together is how I want my character to be marked.

Jesus models it, and we can aspire to it. But it takes effort.

So it being January, the time when we plan out our effort for the year. I would like you to consider a once a month “thinking”, No half baked solutions or easy answers (from Dr. King), but taking the time to think and reason.

Perhaps it's a new book, or listening to a sermon or webinar. Perhaps it’s taking a younger person out and asking for their thoughts on gender and/or sexuality. Perhaps it’s reading your own church's doctrinal statement or other white papers on the topic. Lunch or coffee with your pastor to engage his or her thoughts. 

Next week, I’m going to review a book I’m reading. You could get started now. It’s called The Genesis of Gender by Abigail Favale. I’m going to wait for the review- but it’s worth reading for sure!

Take a page in your journal and title it “what I believe the Bible says about sexuality and gender”. Write out your thoughts and questions. How have you come to believe these things- it is your own study or something passed down through your church or family. Are you completely convinced? Can you verbally articulate your thoughts in clear ways?

Our culture, and the evil influence behind it, definitely has clear, articulate, and thought out ways to convey a non biblical ethic. And oftentimes it’s hard to discern exactly where it deviates. But we are called to be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. 

Be shrewd in the way that you plan to grow this year, the input that you seek out, and the topics you become conversant about.

We are going to continue, begin, deep dive, dialogue, reason, think,-whatever you want to call it- about gender.  It’s a pressing and deceptive topic swirling around us and we should not bury our head in the sand and believe it’s going away. Nor should we throw up our hands as if ‘we are going to hell in a handbasket’ and there is nothing we can do.

Let’s do the work- together.