It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Well, that’s a lie. Fall is the most wonderful time of the year. But summer is a close dang second. Past the blizzards, beyond tornado season. Free of the crush of the school year and activity schedule. Free of manic May and its endless cascade of Very Important Events and extra junk to remember to send to school with your kids to ensure that no 2nd grade slacking costs them that college scholarship,... Read more
I’m at my in-laws’ house for the weekend. The news is on TV. My daughter slowly, quietly, creeps around the corner. She’s wearing a hooded black robe. On the screen behind her, I see there’s been a shooting. Another. A big one this time. (Aren’t they all?) Eleven people dead. A municipal building in Virginia Beach. The black hooded figure comes into the room. She likes to pretend it’s a Dementor’s cape. She is breathing the cold kiss of death... Read more
Warning… big fat spoilers. If you are waiting to watch the finale, stop here. >>> Anyway. A few years ago, when my husband started watching Game of Thrones, he was all “you have to watch this amazing new show with me!” And then shortly thereafter he was like “nevermind. It’s super violent, you won’t like it.” As much as I love proving my spouse wrong on occasion (who doesn’t??) this was not one of those times. I took his word for it,... Read more
We’re from different worlds, theologically speaking. We don’t agree on everything, politically or otherwise. But I am on Beth Moore’s team, and I’ve got her back. Because she’s got a bunch of men trying to shut her up, and we can’t be having that. Beth Moore, the popular Christian author and teacher, has always pushed some boundaries, simply by being a woman with a public platform. In her tradition, the Southern Baptist Church, women are not permitted to preach in... Read more
Happy Mother’s Day, dear readers. I know this day is tricky. I wrote a post several years ago about how complicated and raw and sometimes painful this day can be, and every year it gets a bunch of new shares and comments because it is still all true. If you are hurting today, be good to yourself. And if you are leading worship today, please be sensitive and know that women (and men) are carrying all sorts of heavy burdens... Read more
Last night, my 8-year-old sat down with an atlas and an open browser and decided where he’s going to live when he grows up (Nashville); where he’s going to college (Vanderbilt); and what he’s going to major in (mechanical engineering and baseball). He wants to invent things and solve global problems. I know he’s little and might change his mind a few dozen times. Then again, maybe not. Either way, he’s got many paths wide open to him, he’s enthusiastic... Read more
She was a voice in the wilderness. Many say that Rachel Held Evans was the first person who ever told them it was OK to question their faith. Or the first to open a more critical and discerning look at scripture than their rigid doctrines had previously allowed. She told many women, for the first time, that they were worthy of leadership, and that the Church needed their voices. She told LGBTQ brothers and sisters that God loved them, and... Read more
Joe Biden announced his run for President this morning. As much as I admire him as a leader—and as much as I think the whole touching foreheads/lack of personal space deal has been blown WAY out of proportion, given the transgressions of the one currently occupying that particular office at the moment—I just can’t get excited about having yet another white man in the White House in the near future. I’m just going to say it, and let the trolls... Read more
It’s been three months– a full quarter of the year–and I haven’t written much about the realities of leaving congregational ministry. Hell, I don’t think I’ve written about it at all, other than to share that I was doing it. My lack of commentary on the matter has been mostly due to real life and logistics. What with moving, travel and starting a new job with the denomination, I’ve had very little reflective space to even process. Also, at first... Read more
The Notre Dame Cathedral has been reduced to ashes. It’s a loss both literal and symbolic; the death of an icon for some, and to others, the tragic fall of a true church home. While church is “not a building,” this building, for some, was THE church. It embodied history and tradition; art and beauty; sacred space and narrative; and, of its own accord, stood as a landmark in the Paris skyline. Three Louisiana churches burned to the ground last... Read more
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