Around the Blogosphere…

Best Interview:
Women in Leadership: An Interview with Nikki Toyama-Szeto

“There are also cycles of power we need to recognize. It’s very interesting to look through a Christian lens — there’s having power, there’s giving up power, and then there’s claiming power. Some of it depends on where you are in that circle, what the faithful response to power is. So in some cases, if you have power, the faithful response is actually to relinquish power or to use your power for somebody else. And then in other cases, when you’re disempowered, the faithful response is actually to step and to claim power. For example, trying to step into Shalom. Our world is broken and you might actually need to step in and say, this isn’t right. It is important for women in power to understand what of the power they have is theirs to give away, where do they need to take that power and step in and claim more-- possibly for their own self or for a greater thing such as the health of their organization — and where do they just need to steward the power that they have.” 

Best Headline: 
“Man Tries to Sneak Pet Turtle on Plane By Disguising It as a Hamburger”

Most Insightful:
Carolyn Custis James with “The Underlying Belief System of Spiritual Abuse”

“In Christian circles, the need to maintain male authority, the necessity for women to default to a submissive posture in relationship to men, and the subliminal conviction that women rank lower than men is the perfect recipe for spiritual abuse. It protects the abuser and puts the abused at risk. Worse still, it opens the door for other forms of abuse to take place within the church and at home behind closed doors.”

Most Challenging: 
Zack Hunt with “Blogmatics: The Cost of Discipleship"

"Like Bonhoeffer, I am not interested in a Christian faith that makes no demands on my life, that leaves me the same way I was when I came to the foot of the cross, that does nothing more than put a stamp of approval on my imperfection and ordain my self-centered way of life."

Most Beautiful: 
Antonia Terrazas with  “I’m Leaving the Church” 

"I’m leaving the church that passed me Christ’s peace in eyes and mouth and hands, not hurried, embarrassed, or even surprised to find me there, even happy to see me in a pew becoming regular, forgetting and learning my name a thousand times."

Most Heartbreaking:
Becca Rose with “What We Want When We Want Church”

“Take your hurt and leave. Come back when you're free and whole and not broken anymore. This isn't just this one church. This is church culture.”

Most Exciting (you’re going to love both of these books!): 
‘Jesus Feminist’ Receives Advance Praise and 
Tattooed Traditionalist: Nadia Bolz-Weber 

For my favorite responses to the millennial conversation, see yesterday’s post. 

On my nightstand… 

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

Jesus Freak by Sara Miles 

So, what caught your eye online this week? What’s happening on your blog?