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Comments Today’s faith and parenting post comes to us from the talented Beth Woolsey. Beth is the writer and humorist behind the Five Kids Is A Lot of Kids blog. She has been described as “optimistic, authentic, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, [capturing] the mom experience with all its pathos and humor,” and was named one of Sheknows.com’s Top Five Moms Who Will Make You Laugh Out Loud.Beth and her longsuffering husband, Greg, are parents to five kids. Their kids are adopted a... read moreMissing
Comments For our faith and parenting series today we are joined by the incredibly talented Michelle DeRusha. Michelle lives in Nebraska with her husband Brad and two boys—contemplative Noah and red-haired Rowan. She writes a monthly column for the Lincoln Journal Star and his a frequent contributor to The High Calling. Michelle is working on a memoir that I’ve had the chance to take a peek at, and, let me tell you it’s amazing. She blogs about finding and keeping faith ... read moreWhy Smorgasbord Christianity Is Good For Kids
Comments Today’s post on faith and parenting comes to us from my friend Elizabeth Esther. As you may remember, Elizabeth and I went to Bolivia with World Vision together. There, while clinging to one another for dear life as our bus swung precariously over Cochabamba’s precarious mountain curves, we became fast friends. Elizabeth is a fantastic writer, a classic ENFP, the mother to five beautiful kids, a church abuse survivor, and an occasional contributor to Fox News. (I love her anyway.) Sh... read moreFaith, like a child
Comments Faith, like a child, you are wilder than I want.You are harder to predict than you once were, Harder to control.Oh they are illusions of control, I know. But I try, When I dress you up in fine, fashionable clothes so that you will look like the others,When I keep you at home to protect you from the world, When I try, in vain, to fight the pull of time so it won’t change anything about the way you laugh, the way you whisper, the way you play—all these little ways I... read morePeace Like a River
Comments Today’s guest post on faith and parenting comes to us all the way from Laos, via the talented Lisa McKay. Lisa is a mother (she is also an author and a psychologist who specializes in trauma and resilience, but during these foggy days of early parenthood, those other identities sometimes feel remote indeed). Lisa’s first novel, My Hands Came Away Red, was published in 2007, and was nominated for a Christy Award. A memoir, Love At The Speed of Email, will be released in June. Li... read moreLeaving Church, Finding Faith: Why We Didn’t Stay for the Kids
Comments Today’s post on faith and parenting comes from Kim Van Brunt. Kim is a freelance writer living in Rochester, Minn. She and her husband have three children. She blogs about adoption, faith and family at Honestly: Adoption. Enjoy! *** We left the church a year later than we wanted to. Like a bad marriage, we stayed for the kids. I grew up in a small, involved church community that really cared about kids. I was part of the youth group, I followed the charismatic youth pastor, I went... read moreSix things you should know about
Comments 1. Women at War? I’ve got a post over at Her.Meneutics this morning responding to the Ann Romney/Hilary Rosen debacle and all the war imagery that’s being used to try and rally women in the 2012 election: “Frankly, I’m tired of both sides using violent imagery to describe the difficult decisions that I, and my sisters, make every day, and I’m tired of seeing those decisions reduced to bumper sticker ideologies that can be exploited for political gain. ... read moreThoughts on the Tennessee “Monkey Bill”
Comments I never learned about evolution in school. Even though I attended a public high school, where I took two biology courses, my teachers essentially skipped the first few chapters of our science textbook and declared them “too controversial” to teach. You just don’t talk about evolution here in Dayton, Tennessee—home of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925—without getting calls from parents. As I recall, we spent maybe one class session “dis... read moreSo how was your Easter...really?
Comments For those of us who wrestle with doubts about our faith, and with what it means to be part of the Church, the landscape of Holy Week can be both beautiful and treacherous. I was reminded of just how different our experiences can be after I came home from a day with the family to find in my Google Reader a lovely, celebratory post from Sarah Bessey, “In which God has restored me to church,” as well as an honest reminder from Kathy Escobar, “When Easter is Hard.” I... read moreWomen of the Passion, Part 4: Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles
Comments When referring to the earliest followers of Jesus, the Gospel writers often speak of two groups of disciples: the Twelve and the Women. The Twelve refer to the twelve Jewish men chosen by Jesus to be his closest companions and first apostles, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Women refer to an unspecified number of female disciples who also followed Jesus, welcoming him into their homes, financing his ministry, and often teaching the Twelve through their acts of faithfulness and love.... read moreWomen of the Passion, Part 3: The Women Wait
Comments When referring to the earliest followers of Jesus, the Gospel writers often speak of two groups of disciples: the Twelve and the Women. The Twelve refer to the twelve Jewish men chosen by Jesus to be his closest companions and first apostles, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Women refer to an unspecified number of female disciples who also followed Jesus, welcoming him into their homes, financing his ministry, and often teaching the Twelve through their acts of faithfulness and love.... read moreWomen of the Passion, Part 2: Mary’s Heart is Pierced (Again)
Comments When referring to the earliest followers of Jesus, the Gospel writers often speak of two groups of disciples: the Twelve and the Women. The Twelve refer to the twelve Jewish men chosen by Jesus to be his closest companions and first apostles, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Women refer to an unspecified number of female disciples who also followed Jesus, welcoming him into their homes, financing his ministry, and often teaching the Twelve through their acts of faithfulness and love.... read moreThe Mainline and Me
Comments I never expected my posts “15 Reasons I Left Church” and “15 Reasons I Returned to The Church” to make such waves, but I’m still hearing from people who loved them, people who hated them, people who resonated with them, and people incredibly frustrated by them. One of the most common responses I’ve received has come from members of "mainline" Protestant churches. (Progressive Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, etc.)&n... read moreGuest Post: “Will you always believe in Jesus, Mama?”
Comments Last week, I used my Facebook page to get some feedback about the blog from readers, and many of you expressed a desire to see more posts on faith and parenting. Not yet a parent myself, I’ve decided to launch a series of guest posts on the topic. The author of today’s piece, who prefers to remain anonymous out of respect for her son's privacy, teaches at a Christian college in the Midwest. ...Enjoy! *** My six year old son told me in all seriousness last night that he ... read more15 Reasons I Returned to The Church
Comments So yesterday’s post, 15 Reasons I Left Church, generated a massive response, which I was not expecting. (Must have struck a nerve.) Thank you so much for your comments. They were honest, encouraging, challenging, and true. As I mentioned yesterday, I left church when I was 27, and for a couple of years, I really struggled with my faith. But as many of you pointed out, sometimes leaving church is the best way to find the Church, and that’s exactly what has happened a... read more15 Reasons I Left Church
Comments Eight million twenty-somethings have left the church, and it seems like everyone is trying to figure out why. Last week, Christian Piatt offered seven reasons here, and four more reasons here. David Kinnaman recently authored a book entitled, You Lost Me, which details the findings of Barna researchers who interviewed hundreds of 18-29 year-olds about why they left the church. I left the church when I was twenty-seven. I am now thirty, and after trying unsuccessfully to start a house ch... read moreWise words from a former celebrity pastor...
Comments You can download the rest of Ed’s story here. Have you had a life experience that forced you to change the way you related to God and worked out your faith? ... read moreBrown Mountain Lights (a guest post – and song – from Amanda Held Opelt)
Comments Today I am delighted to introduce you to my little sister, Amanda Opelt. Amanda and her husband Tim recently moved from the big city of Nashville to Boone, North Carolina, where Tim is in graduate school at Appalachian State University and Amanda works at Samaritan’s Purse. Amanda has been writing songs and performing since she was in junior high, and living in Boone has given her a great opportunity to connect with her Appalachian roots. She recently set up a Band Camp page, so be sure to... read moreOn celebrity pastors
Comments Today Relevant posted an article I wrote about celebrity pastors entitled “When Jesus Meets TMZ.” I confess I had a tough time writing this one. My goal was not to criticize successful pastors, but to challenge Christians, myself included, to take a hard look at what we expect out of our leaders. I found the apostle Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church especially helpful in this regard. You can read the article here. Any additional thoughts you might have... read moreI Could Have Used This Book Twelve Years Ago: A Review of “The Evolution of Adam” by Peter Enns
Comments Within the first week of my freshman year of college, my Introduction to World Literature class included a reading of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian myth about a hero who is described as 1/3 man and 2/3 god. As we read the text together in class, I couldn't help but notice some striking similarities between this text and the familiar texts of Genesis and Ecclesiastes, but when we got to the part where Gilgamesh speaks with Utnapishtim, a survivor of the Great Flood, I disintegrated into a ... read moreThey Were Right (And Wrong) About the Slippery Slope
Comments They said that if I questioned a 6,000-year-old earth, I would question whether other parts of Scripture should be read scientifically and historically. They were right. I did. They said that if I entertained the hope that those without access to the gospel might still be loved and saved by God, I would fall prey to the dangerous idea that God loves everyone, that there is nothing God won’t do to reconcile all things to Himself. They were right. I h... read moreHey Pastors, Don't be afraid to use the f-word
Comments It's back! The second Epic Fail Pastors Conference is scheduled for March 22-24, 2012. I’m a fan of this conference for a couple of reasons: 1. When I wrote a post entitled “Dear Pastors – Tell Us the Truth,” I was overwhelmed with responses from pastors who felt that the Church was no place to openly discuss their fears, their failures, their hopes, and their dreams. This conference creates a safe place for those sort of conversations to happen. ... read more2 Reasons Mark Driscoll’s popularity doesn’t discourage me
Comments So I spent the last four days in Tempe, Arizona, hanging out with the good folks from the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology, Tempe First United Methodist Church, and Christians for Biblical Equality. I even got to try an In-And-Out burger while I was there! (It was good and all, but I confess I did not have the religious experience for which so many In-And-Out fans had prepared me.) What surprised me on this trip was that at every single event, one or two people would pull me a... read moreTwo questions for Millennials and Gen X-ers
Comments This weekend I’ll be speaking to the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology about how my generation of Christians is evolving. And because the comment section consistently proves that my readers are smarter than me, I’d love to get your input on two points I’ll be addressing: 1. What made you leave, or consider leaving, the Church? (or, What made you stay?) 2. In what practical ways would you like to see folks from older generations come alongside us as... read moreShowing 1 - 25 of 126 Articles | Page 1 of 6
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