Institutions make me itchy. See, God has planted within me a deep mistrust for human authority (which is how I know God has wicked sense of humor since God also has given me a cop for a wife, but I digress). I get all itchy when I see what for all the world looks to me like the ways institutions create more barriers to relationship with God than they do open doors. This raw wool scarf that has wrapped itself around my... Read more
Gracious and loving God, you watch the ways of all of us and the utter destruction of which our hands are capable. We implore you to weave goodness and grace In the lives of those destroyed by senseless violence. Surround those whose lives are shattered with a sense of your present love. Wrap them in the worn quilt of your compassion. Though they are lost in grief, May they find you and be comforted. Amen... Read more
I read a blog by one of my colleagues at Patheos yesterday that got me to thinking about the “fundamentals” of progressive Christianity. In progressive Christianity it seems we have a hard time claiming “fundamentals” or capital T truth so we end up looking like a bunch of wishy-washy, anything goes goobers. Well it is more complicated than that since it hard to claim absolutes since we accept that Truth is elusive and contextual. While living our Gift in... Read more
Ok, so this feels a little tacky to post a piece written about me right here under a masthead with my goofy old mug grinning at you, but here is how it happened. The post below is not about me really, it is about everyone out there who is willing to speak up for a Christianity that lives into God’s radical hospitality. This is about what can happen when a progressive Christian “evangelizes” (eeeek!). See, I’ve been thinking about how sometimes it... Read more
So another blog post on Patheos has really stuck in my craw and I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking and praying to offer a thoughtful and faithful response. I find I am feeling less gentle than I should so forgive me if I am a tad punchy here. I am troubled by the author’s casual dismissal and even open disdain of a piece of pop culture that points people toward love and kindness when there is so much... Read more
So last week was pretty exciting for our little blog here. My new friend and very insightful author, Rachel Held Evans, posted a little conversation between the two of us. The ongoing conversation that has percolated around the original post has been deeply meaningful to me. Yesterday I saw a new question in the comments that stayed with me all day so I thought I would try to respond here. Here is the comment to which I am responding: From “Guest” Ford1968 [another person commenting... Read more
Back in the summer of 2006 when I had only been out to myself, friends and family for a couple of years I got another one of those a phone calls from my mom. As soon as I picked up the phone she spat “So I guess you were down there at Piedmont Park.” I had not been there but figured she was hoping to pounce on me for some imagined debauchery with other Pride attendees. “No ma’am” I said... Read more
A chat between a couple of gay and straight married women. So last week I was sitting in a church in Birmingham, Alabama with a new friend, Anna. Anna has just this year joined our church in Kirkwood, been baptized, secured a full ride to Candler School of Theology – and gotten married. We are so lucky and grateful to be sharing her journey and gifts for ministry. She has definitely brought a vibrant light to our community. As we... Read more
I am grateful to be able to share the stories of others by inviting you to the conversation as they share glimpses from their journey. This first guest post is by my friend Laura who was sitting with me by the fire the night I decided to drive to Maiden. by Laura Arnold I was in the trauma bay with Jay following his motorcycle accident. I had been at his bedside only a fraction of a second when he reached... Read more
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” Acts 2:1 I’m headed to Catawba Valley tomorrow. What shall I see when we are all together in one place? Will there be throngs filled with the Holy Spirit speaking the many languages of love? Will onlookers be bewildered as voices rise, each in the native tongues of the secular and sacred worlds from which we come? Will perplexed spectators sneer? Will the world hear... Read more
Kimberly Knight
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