No official superlatives today. I’ve been on the road too much this week to check the internet, and it would be wrong to simply steal links from the awesome weekly roundups of Sarah Bessey, On Pop Theology, Christena Cleveland, and Scot McKnight, which I confess I was tempted to do. (Add these folks to your blog reader if you haven’t already. They really do curate some of the best link-ups out there.)
However, I do want to draw your attention to two amazing posts written about women in ministry this week:
April Fiet with “When God Calls a Complementarian Woman into Ministry”
“Calling. Somehow in the midst of a worldview that told me I couldn’t be called, in the middle of a class that was being taught by someone who probably never thought I could be called, God spoke to me and confirmed to me that I was called to ministry. And, then I immediately excused the thought of pastoral ministry, and decided it must be music ministry, or something more “appropriate” for a woman to do.”
Jackie Roese with “I Said It”
“What we have going on is not a women’s issue; it’s a human issue. And I don’t believe the issue is about equality. I don’t think Jesus died so we could be equal. Jesus died for something bigger than that. Equality means I’ve got my rights, and you’ve got yours, and so we’re good with each other. Do you hear how we can simply tolerate rather than integrate? God created man and woman (community) to live in Shalom. That’s bigger than equality. It may include equality, but it doesn’t rest there. Interdependent. Intertwined. In need of otherness. Oneness. It’s bigger than equality.”
Powerful and encouraging stuff.
Oh, and this post on loving our LGBT neighbors is just too good not to also share:
Justin Lee with "You love gay people? That's great. Prove it."
“…Anything you could say, all that “speaking the truth in love,” I’ve heard it all before. So if you’re really serious when you say you love me, you’re going to have to prove it. Show me. Not sure how? Here are some ideas.”
In other news, on Tuesday evening, March 11, I’ll be speaking at Siena Heights University about my year of biblical womanhood. The event is at 7:30 p.m. in Francoeur Theater on the Adrian campus and is open to the public. I’ll have lots of time to hang out afterwards if you want to chat or have me sign a book. You can learn more here.
The next stop is Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where I’ll be speaking in chapel about millennials and the church on Wednesday, March 19 at 10 a.m. and about my year of biblical womanhood in Lehman Auditorium at 8:30 p.m. Learn more here.
What a strange gift it’s been to speak to so many different groups—from a Catholic university to a Mennonite university and everything in between! Still, I’ll be cutting back on travel big time this summer, fall, and in 2015, which should get me back to regular blogging and hopefully give me the chance to finish this next book. As much as I love meeting readers in person and connecting with all these cool universities, churches, and conferences, I’m exhausted. And I hate airplanes. And my introverted self is running on empty. So it’s time for a break.
Finally, Faith Unraveled (the April re-release of Evolving in Monkey Town) is still available for pre-order on Kindle/Nook for just $3.79. That’s a good deal! We've been discussing the release on my Facebook Page, which I should probably remind people exists more often.
Tomorrow on the blog look for a review of Christena Cleveland’s book, Disunity in Christ. Spoiler Alert: It’s fantastic!
In the meantime, what caught your eye online this week? What’s happening on your blog?
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