-
The Flawed Theology of Christian Nationalism
Families traveled to the nondescript hall each week from across Michigan and even Ontario. Some drove up to two and a half hours one way — my family drove an hour and twenty minutes — to gather on Sunday with like-minded believers. The hall was split into two areas: one lined with tables where families set up their lunch spot, and the other with rows of old metal folding chairs gathered in a semi circle around an electric piano and a black, collapsible podium. In the back of the room near the kitchen, they set up PVC pipes with curtains as a space for the nursing mothers and babies. There…
-
Heartbreaking Truth from an Unbeliever
“If Christianity is such an inessential add-on, why become a Christian?” Ben Sixsmith, The Sad Irony of Celebrity Pastors I found an article yesterday that made me weep. As I processed it, I literally had to stop my Christmas baking to have a good cry with Jesus. The author identified as “non-religious” and yet from his outside perspective he managed to nail the major issue across every brand of modern Christianity. Originally written as a response to yet another celebrity pastor stepping down because of sexual misconduct, the article ended as a critique of Christianity as a whole. I think the part that hit me the hardest was the fact…
-
Social Media and a Polarized World
I just finished the Netflix documentary called “the social dilemma” this morning. It feels fitting considering that we are all waiting the results of a very polarized and passionate election. Have you every wondered, “What happened to our world? When did it get so crazy?” I have. Often. And thanks to this documentary now I have some insight. I’d encourage all of you to watch it. Unless you cancelled your Netflix account because of the online drama over the “Cuties” movie. (Which ironically is a perfect example of what the documentary is talking about.) Did you know that fake news travels six times as fast on social media as real…
-
How 2020 is Preaching the Gospel
“2020 is going to be infamous for centuries to come. People are going to use it in sentences like, “My week started great and then it went all 2020 on me.” Our world appears to be falling apart on multiple levels. And it just keeps going. But maybe that’s a good thing. I feel like 2020 is exposing humanity’s need of the gospel like never before. We are broken. The world is broken. We cannot fix this alone no matter how hard we try. We need a Savior.” @christylynnewood 2020 is preaching us the gospel. I am increasingly convinced that this year — which appears to have come from hell…
-
I Want to Go Home
Tears. Face in the floor. Sobs. “I just want to go home!” Every time. This was the heartbreaking saga that played out every time something fell apart, or didn’t go his way, or disappointed him for the first four or five weeks of living with my mother-in-law this summer. My poor little son. “We can’t go home, buddy. Someone else lives there now. It’s not our house anymore.” They aren’t exactly comforting words, but it was the best I had to offer. For some inexplicable reason in early May of 2020, as if COVID shutdowns and quarantines weren’t enough, my husband and I decided to sell our house. We’d bought…
