Rachel Held Evans | Tag Landing

"My wife is beautiful..."

Last week, my good friends Josh and Annie welcomed little Lisa Suzette into the world. I know Josh as the lucky man who married my college roommate. But you know Josh as a frequent commenter here on the blog and the man responsible for writing the most popular comment of all time (with a whopping 220 “likes”)! I thought about that comment as I saw the first few photos from Lisa’s birth on Facebook, and with Josh and Annie's permission, I thought I’d share that com... read more

When grace is just a doctrine

photo © 2009 Slawek Puklo | more info (via: Wylio) Grace is my middle name. Literally. I was born Rachel Grace Held—named after my great-grandmother, Grace Burleson, who taught school in rural Appalachia during the Depression and who, when I was young and she was old, used to pull me onto her lap to tell me stories about the ghost that lived in the hen house at the old farm. Grace is a good name, a gentle name, one I’d like to pass down to my own daughter someday... read more

Love is not weak

photo © 2008 hyoin min | more info (via: Wylio) "Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (I John 4:7-8) The problem with love is that it can’t be systematized. It can’t be explained, controlled, regulated, or legislated. It’s something you know, but can’t exactly teach; something you experience but can’t contain. Love both inhabits and ... read more

Rachel, the Very Worst Pacifist

photo © 2008 Deana | more info (via: Wylio) The title of today’s post is inspired by my friend Jamie, the Very Worst Missionary, who I’m pretty sure is not actually the very worst missionary since that title should belong to the friar who threw a Bible at King Atahaullpa back in 1532 and then gave the conquistadors permission to slaughter the Incan people because their king didn’t know how to read it. I’m against that sort of thing because I’m a... read more

Letter to a Young Calvinist (from a young Arminian)

photo © 2008 Smithsonian Institution | more info(via: Wylio) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope this letter finds you growing in love and chasing after Jesus, brimming with all the questions, ideas, and passions that make young people like us a force to be reckoned with in the Church. I’ve been reading with interest the many books, articles, and blog posts dissecting what has been called “The New Calvinism”—... read more

Blessed are the Peacemakers: Messages of Goodwill on 9-11

Today marks the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001, and I’m beginning to suspect that it’s the most significant September 11 since the towers fell on that horrible day. It is significant because this year the national dialog has turned to the question of how we should respond to our Muslim neighbors in light of those attacks, and I believe that the ways in which we answer that question will determine whether we allow September 11 to turn us into people of hate ... read more

Loving our Muslim neighbors unconditionally

Last November I had the pleasure of hearing Tony Campolo speak at a two-day event in Chattanooga hosted by the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. In one of his talks, Tony warned the audience that the next group of people to be persecuted in the United States would likely be Muslims and Arab Americans. “As Christians, we can’t let this happen,” he said. “These are our neighbors, created in the image of God. They deserve our love and respect.” Tony&... read more

Doubt, Family, and Friends: Part 2

How have your friends and family responded to your book? I’ve been asked that question more than any other since the release of Evolving in Monkey Town, and it’s a question I often receive from readers like Dave who are struggling to share their doubts and ideas with the people they love. First let me say that my immediate family—Mom, Dad, Amanda, and Dan—have been incredibly supportive throughout this whole process. Even when they disagree with me on the details,... read more

Family, Friends, and Doubt: Part 1

Every week I hear from readers who have been touched in some way by Evolving in Monkey Town. One of the most common dilemmas these readers say they face is trying to navigate their doubts, questions, and new ideas in the context of their current faith communities. Several of you suggested last week we address this on the blog, so I thought I’d introduce the topic by including an excerpt from an email I recently received from Dave. Writes Dave: …For the last three... read more

How perfectionism kills community

At The Mission we’ve been talking a lot about community—about how profoundly we long for it, about how seductively our culture lures us away from it, and about how challenging it is to really restore and foster it. Never before have I been so convicted and inspired to live my life alongside other people. And never before have I been so frustrated by the excuses I find not to. Being a part of a church plant has forced me to confront a vicious cycle in my life, a cycl... read more

Review: “Love is an Orientation” by Andrew Marin

I get a knot in my stomach every time someone asks me if I think homosexuality is a sin. It’s a loaded, closed-ended question that requires making a sweeping pronouncement on a group of people that is far too diverse and varied to earn a single label. It’s a question that instantly lowers the level of discourse by casting the complicated continuum of human sexuality into sharp, black-and-white terms. And it’s a question I’m desperately afraid to answer for fear of losin... read more

Love, Tweet Love

Well, I can hardly believe it, but my little sister Amanda is getting married this weekend! As the “matron of honor,” (a title that for some reason conjures in my mind the image of a large breasted woman in a peasant dress carrying an armful of babies), my duties for the week will keep me pretty busy. I’d planned to write a lengthy post outlining all the marital advice I’ve accumulated over the last six years, but seeing as I still have to get my hair done, throw ... read more

Responding to "fixers"...when you don't want to be fixed

So last week I received quite a flood of responses to my post, Why Calvinism Makes Me Cry – both on the blog and in my inbox. I’m happy that the post started such a lively conversation, and I appreciate all who contributed so thoughtfully to it. Thank you! As is often the case when I write about confronting doubt or questioning certain theological traditions, I got a message or two urging me to stop asking so many pesky questions and just enjoy the bliss of absolute certainty that ... read more

A New Kind of Fundamentalist, Part 2 - Confession of Faith

Today I’d like to continue our conversation about “a new kind of fundamentalism,” as together we seek to not only deconstruct but also reconstruct our perspectives on Christian faith. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I spend more time talking about what my faith is not than I spend talking about what my faith is! For me, trying to identify and focus in on what is truly fundamental to following Jesus represents a first step in the rebuilding process ... read more

Guest Post - Seasoned Words

By Travis Mamone I never understood why many Christians enjoy conservative pundits like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Michelle Malkin. It’s not because they report things that contradict my socialist agenda or anything like that. I’m not against conservatism or conservative media in general; some of my favorite bloggers are conservatives. No, the reason why I don’t like them is because they are just so . . . nasty. Last July on “Fox and Friends,&rdquo... read more

Why Calvinism Makes Me Cry

This is not a post about Calvinism. Not really. It’s not about TULIP or John Piper or predestination or the Reformation. It’s not about why I think Calvinism is a theological system based on logical inferences rather than the clear, consistent teachings of Scripture. It’s not about all of my nasty run-ins with hyper-Calvinists who have called me a “cotton-candy Christian” and an “enemy of the Church” for not subscribing to their theology. It’... read more

Review of "Deep Church" + Your Thoughts on Creeds

One of the perks of blogging is that sometimes you get free books in the mail to review on your site. I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical about Deep Church, the most recent book I received, in which Jim Belcher examines the divide between the emerging church and the traditional church in an effort to forge a third way. I know what you’re thinking. Define emerging. Define traditional…Oh, wait, you can’t. How can there be a clear third way between such d... read more

Reader e-mail: Parents and Politics

Before I get to the e-mail, I wanted to let you know that next week I’ll be making a big announcement about my book on the blog, so be sure to stop by. Also, I’ll be reviewing Jim Belcher’s book, Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional, which has gotten a lot of buzz and which I think will be of interest to a lot of you. Oh, and for all the college football fans out there – ROLL TIDE! Let the season begin! Okay, now to the e-mail. I recently received ... read more

Reader Email - Breaking the Cycle of Cynicism

Today I want to focus on an important question: How do we respond with love when we feel that the Gospel is being distorted? The question was inspired by an email I recently received from reader. She is a recent Christian College graduate, and from what I can tell, an intelligent and compassionate young woman. Here are some excerpts from her message to me: I'm emailing you because I have a really hard time reading your blog. I rarely make it through two posts in a row, but not for the s... read more

A New Kind of Fundamentalist

I’ve signed my fair share of doctrinal statements through the years. I’ve recited many creeds. I’ve defended my orthodoxy by insisting that I believe Jesus is the Son of God, that he was born of the Virgin Mary, that he died and rose again, and that he is coming again. I’ve tried to take all the right positions on all the right issues—salvation by faith, the inspiration of Scripture, the Holy Three-In-One. But no one has ever asked me to promise to love the ... read more

Lars, the Real Girl, and the Real Church

So while we’re on the topic of movies, I’d like to recommend one that Dan and I recently discovered, called “Lars and the Real Girl.” It’s a quirky dramedy about a delusional guy named Lars (played by Ryan Gosling) and his relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet. Yes, it sounds dirty...but it’s actually one of the most innocent, sweet movies I’ve ever seen. It beautifully portrays the purpose and power of community, as Lars’ ... read more

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