Relevant Faith Journey

In this episode I look at how faith influences Christian politics reflecting on last weekend's No Kings Rally and the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. I unpack some information about the US healthcare system and make a case that it's our Christian duty to fund the Affordable Care Act because of the Biblical mandate to care for those in need.  Here are a few resources that I used in this...

I hear this question from time to time: how can you believe the Bible and also believe that homosexuality is not sin? There are variations like, how can you believe the Bible and not condemn sex before marriage as sin?  In this episode I walk through a shift in perspective around the way we read scripture. I introduce the idea that the Bible might not have been written to be a handbook for sexual...

In this episode I'll explore the topic of Biblical authority and how it relates to the separation of the United Methodist Church. As with many spiritual things, the issue is more complex than a disagreement on what the Bible says and means. Here are a few resources that I used in writing this episode: Sermon on Same Sex Attraction from my dad's church. This is from 2015 and may not refle...

I am reflecting on advent seasons past in this episode. As a pastor, I often wrote advent readings and created content for my congregation. One series I am particularly proud of was called the Kindness Challenge. Remembering has helped me think about setting an intention for the next year. You can see videos of the Kindness Challenge here: Kindness Challenge 1: https://youtu.be/gcNVxJsZzbM?si=GzpR...

I used to say that sexuality shouldn’t define identity. As Christians our identity is first as children of God and followers of Jesus before anything else. I realize now that as a heterosexual woman, being defined by something other than my sexuality is a privilege. In this episode I'll start with my own journey from quiet support of my friend to fully affirming of LGBTQ+ people. This was pro...

In this episode I use reflect on Barbie, the movie, to talk about the challenge our culture is having to re-define masculinity.   Conservative Evangelicals have been posting on social media that Barbie is inappropriate for children. Since there's no kissing, no sex and "crap" is the worst cus word, I call BS. Seeing a reflection of patriarchy in the form of a Barbieland role reversa...

How does a man become a leading authority on relationships and parenting, yet has never married or fathered a child? In this week's episode I reflect on the Amazon Prime Documentary Series "Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets." Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were reality TV stars on TLC's hit show "19 and Counting." Their odd lifestyle with so many children drew mi...

This week I'm diving into the topic of sexual desire. Purity culture taught us that men can't help but be tempted to sexual sin and women are just not that into it. We have been tasked with being the gatekeepers. The truth is that our relationship needs are actually the same. Both men and women need connection, intimacy and enjoy sexual pleasure. Our culture doesn't make it safe for...

This week I am talking about consent and digging into our understanding of sexual violence. Often we imagine a struggle that leaves the victim bruised and beaten. But more often sexual trauma is caused by a partner that assumes "Yes" until he or she hears "No." And that word is more difficult to voice that one might think. I'll give a real life illustration of our toleranc...

Have you ever stopped to think about the messaging to women about their words. I'll relate a few examples from sermons, books and experiences that give a picture of the repeated admonition that women should watch what they say. I'll talk about the myth that women talk too much and explore where we go from here. I'll finish up with a retelling of a recent experience at a women's...

In this week's episode I talk about Saddleback Church's exit from the Southern Baptist Convention over the ordination of women. This even gets at a deeper issue. I discus the doctrine of complementarianism, the divide between men and women that needs healing and give some advice on how to bring change to your faith community.   Here are a few resources that I used in this episode: Listen...

This isn’t so much about what’s happening at Asbury University, although it does provide a backdrop for the topic. I’m talking about the shortsighted emphasis on a personal religious experience that white Christians (including myself) lean into. This comes in to play around our ideas about revival.   (spoiler alert) In contrast, our black and brown brothers and sisters in Christ see God’s salvatio...

Last week I talked about gender roles through the 60s and 70. This week I'm picking up in the 1980s with the development of the Christian media marketplace. TV preachers, Christian bookstores, musicians and merchandise all began to shape a somewhat uniform evangelical culture in the US. With that came the rise of purity culture, the effects of which cannot be understated. I wrap up this episo...

In this episode I'll talk about some of the roots of purity culture that came about in the 1960s and 70s. In the midst of the feminist movement, the sexual revolution, the Cold War and the Vietnam Conflict, evangelicals identified a crisis of the family. It's true, folks needed help navigating changing power dynamics in their relationships. The evangelical response was to double down on...

Continuing this series on gender roles, in this episode I look at two passages from the Bible where the Apostle Paul gives relationship advice. The first is 1 Corinthians 7 and is mentioned on occasion. The second is Ephesians 5.21-33 that I talked about in the last episode which has been used to reinforce a traditional view of gender roles. Although I hope to reframe these passages, my goal is fo...

Continuing this series on gender roles, I am diving into this concept of Complementarianism. It was a new term for me until we started attending a church that didn't ordain women pastors. Is it truly equality if certain roles are unavailable? Some say yes and some say no. There is a lot more to say about how these ideas effect our relationships, so stay tuned for next week's episode. Her...

In this episode I talk about the benefit of men and women working together. What big corporations have figured out is that a diverse workforce is the most profitable. But there is still work to be done, especial in faith communities. Building on ideas from the last episode, I'm exploring ideas about gender and culture.  Here's the URL for a study referenced in this episode:  https://lean...

Occasionally, I wonder if I peaked in college when I was selected to preach for chapel in front of 1500 of my peers. I aspired to be a Senior Pastor one day, so what happened? In this episode, I talk about living in Hawaii, how a little church helped me develop as a leader and look at the longer arc of my shooting star. For a variety of reasons we often hold ourselves back from doing big things. T...

There's nothing magical about the turning of the New Year, but it does provide a great opportunity to reflect and look forward. In this episode I'll retell my 2022 highlights and talk about setting goals or, as I prefer to call it, making plans.

What I meant to write about was how to have good conversations with family over the holiday. What I ended up with is a reflection on what it means to feel safe, and how we can aim to set an intention to be a haven of rest and support for the people in our lives. There's more to this topic than I could fit in one 13 minute episode, but I hope this will provide an introduction to the concept if...

The last few years have been weird and it's not just the pandemic. They way people view and practice their faith has been shifting. Many are going through a process of reflecting on how they were raised and reevaluating their belief systems. They call it deconstruction and it's something of a buzz word right now, carrying a variety of meanings. In this episode, I talk a little about chan...

#ThrowBackThursday This week I decided to clean up and release an article I wrote in 2007. I tell a story about driving in the snow, crossing the mounting and finding strength on the other side.  The title is a reference to a song by Shane & Shane called "When I Think About the Lord" which I recorded for this episode. 

This is the 4th episode in the Late Bloomer series. I wrap up my personal coming of age story, dive into some of what the Bible says about sex and make observations on the affects of purity culture. Writing this series has been helpful to me in my healing process and I hope you enjoy listening.  Please feel free to reach out to me on my web site www.relevantfaithjourney.com or on facebook or Insta...

This is the third episode of this series where I talk about my experience growing up and coming of age in purity culture.  Make sure to listen to Late Bloomer and Confessions of a Late Bloomer. Picking up the story, I'll talk about the end of my first relationship. The pain of any breakup is difficult, but recovering from shame made it all the more challenging. I began to rethink some of the...

This is a follow up to the last episode titled Late Bloomer that gave an introduction to my experience around purity culture in the evangelical church. As a continuation of my coming of age story, we'll start with one of my last MySpace blog posts that chronicles the beginning of my first relationship. This is a difficult story for me to tell but my hope is that it will be helpful to the list...