If we’ve decided as a society that it’s not polite to invite yourself to things, we’d better be darn good at inviting each other. Post by: Sarah Thebarge, Author of The Invisible Girls: A Memoir and inspirational speaker This week I’m lucky to have the flexibility (and frequent flyer miles) to fly to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with my parents, my sister and my brother. I have two other brothers who won’t be able to make it — but still,... Read more
I walked out of that confessional booth, shame and anger rising with every step I took to get to the door of the church. I never walked back into those doors again. Post by Guest Contributor: Ryan Kuja I couldn’t see his face across the wooden barrier that separated us in the tiny confessional booth. But I didn’t need to. I could viscerally sense the air of superiority and condescension in every word he spoke loud and clear through his... Read more
“ISIS is to Islam what the Ku Klux Klan is to Christianity.” When my sister said this phrase yesterday, something clicked–a key in the lock of my mind, where I had been trying unsuccessfully to find the perfect way to say: ISIS is not Islam. It’s a shame that I need to say it at all, because it seems so obvious. But I live in an area where folks, especially older folks, are open-hearted and kind to a fault–right up until people start getting... Read more
I talked with the Fundamental Escape Podcast a few months ago, and I’ve invited host Mark Fitzgerald to post several of his podcasts on upcoming Sundays, including episodes featuring Brian McLaren, Kathy Escobar, Doug Pagitt and more. Today we begin with my interview, where Mark and I discuss forming a new spiritual identity. Hope you enjoy! Love, Reba FUNDAMENTAL ESCAPE PODCAST: Interview with Reba Riley In this opening installment of Podcast Sunday we catch up with Reba Riley author of “Post Traumatic Church Syndrome”. We discuss... Read more
Thanks to the (glorious!) fact that weekends often give us a little extra time to catch up on our reading, I’ll be posting book excerpts at the end of each week. It is my hope that these brief looks at recent releases and old favorites will help you find new voices to accompany you on the journey. –Love, Reba Today’s inaugural #FridayReads post is from Out of Sorts: Making Peace with Evolving Faith by the talented Sarah Bessey. Though I do not know... Read more
Post by Contributor Susan Gray Blue Fundamentalism causes more befuddlement than anything else in America these days, followed closely by kale chips and the Kardashians. I know fundamentalism inside-out. I was in, and now I’m out. An earnest evangelical for 20 years or so, I grew up immersed in religion: at multi-weekly church services, a conservative school and summer missionary camps. What fundamentalism is doing to the world matters. It matters enough to catch a glimpse of what’s motivating those beliefs... Read more
I’ve spent the past few years in a spiritual detox. Post by: ALECE RONZINO In my lifetime, I’ve heard more sermons than one could ever possibly need, and I’ve read more Christian books than anyone should ever read. I’ve done the Sunday-morning-Sunday-night-plus-Wednesday-evening church service thing. I’ve memorized the verses. I’ve had the Romans Road and Four Spiritual Laws and Spanish plan of salvation down pat. I’ve prayer-walked, mission-tripped, youth-grouped, See-Ya-At-The-Poled, 40-day-fasted, preached-and-teached. Baptism? Check. Tongues? Check. Slain in the Spirit... Read more
Post by: JULIE CLINE, Certified Martha Beck Life Coach Recently, I was chatting with my Dad and we engaged in a very deep conversation about the “here and now” and his comfort level with where he is, both physically and mentally. Nearly 3 months ago, he went through alcohol detox and he was transported from Florida to Ohio with the clothes on his back (out of fear for his safety and well being). He is currently in an assisted living facility... Read more
Dear Sisters, You see the sidelong glances at restaurants, on the subway, at the park. You hear the whispers. You feel the eyes of strangers on you, screaming with silent judgment. You see fear, and you see anger, and it makes you want to stay inside, draw the blinds, pull your babies close—and we don’t blame you. We would want to hide, too. But you haven’t hidden. You have bravely come out in force to show the world what your... Read more
The changes here on the Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome blog are not limited to the great new header (thanks, Patheos team!): As of this month, the PTCS blog is becoming a collective. My goal, both with my memoir Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome and with this blog, is to host a conversation about the very real condition of spiritual injury I call PTCS, and the many, MANY paths to healing. Since a conversation needs more than one voice, I have asked several new contributors to post regularly (see... Read more
Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome
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