Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

9 Responses to the Willow Creek Accusations That Reveal Everything Wrong with Evangelicalism

by Carly Gelsinger in Current Events

Willow Creek Community Church, a Chicago-area megachurch, is scrambling under the light of the recent allegations of sexual misconduct against its lead pastor, Bill Hybels. Last night, Hybels announced that he was resigning from Willow Creek due to the controversy, although he continues to claim that the allegations against him are false.

The Hybels are a well-connected and influential evangelical family and their supporters have rallied around them. Both the church itself and Hybels’s daughter Shauna Niequest have posted publicly in social media spaces, receiving thousands of comments in support of the Hybels family. This is understandably a difficult time for Bill Hybels’s wife and children and anyone else who has been influenced by him, and their feelings matter. But what matters more is a fair investigation into the disturbing patterns of behavior and cover-ups Hybels is being accused of.

The responses from churchgoers and fans of Hybels’s books and ministry are beyond problematic. They are everything that is wrong with evangelical culture and the reason these things are allowed to happen in secrecy for so long. They demonstrate blind support of their leaders and disregard for logic or facts, with a generous side of victim blaming. Here are some of my favorites:

“Willow Creek changed my life therefore these accusations must be lies.”
You can be grateful for the way a church or pastor has shaped you and still be open to the possibility he may be a… [Read more…] about 9 Responses to the Willow Creek Accusations That Reveal Everything Wrong with Evangelicalism

A theology of ‘chosen family’ liberates us from toxic relationships

by Selina Mullin in Christian Issues

Does Jesus call us to forgive, accept, and maintain toxic relationships with family? Does Jesus want us to honor abusive parents?

For too long the church has preached a message that calls victims of abuse, both physical and emotional, to keep open painful and dangerous family connections for the sake of “Christian family values.” This kind of thinking always infuriated me, and I asked myself, is this how Jesus wanted us to live our lives? But, after turning to the Gospel of Mark, my answer to that question is now an emphatic hell no!

In Mark 3:19b-35, we read a strange story of Jesus rejecting his family. At the beginning of the chapter he goes home, and arriving there is swarmed by a crowd. His family hears about this and goes to investigate. Apparently, his behavior post-Baptism and desert experience is radically different from before. Frankly, his mom and siblings are not happy about it. He’s just so different than we remember, maybe it’s who he’s been hanging out with? Maybe it’s a phase?

They try to intervene and a discussion ensues as to whether he has been overcome with an evil spirit. Sound familiar to any of my queer friends? Of course, little do they know he has been “overshadowed” by a spirit–but one of divine origins.

Fast forward a bit … in Mark 3:31-35 I think it is no coincidence that Jesus’s family is outside the gathered crowd of believers and followers; they are both physically and socially outside his circle. When the… [Read more…] about A theology of ‘chosen family’ liberates us from toxic relationships

Queer Eye and Christian Hypocrisy

by in Christian Issues

Netflix’s show, Queer Eye, the reboot of the popular makeover show from the last decade, has been widely lauded for moving beyond mere fashion and grooming advice and instead engaging with timely social issues.

In the fifth episode of the season, the Fab Five—a team of five openly gay “experts”—set out to make over Bobby Camp, who is a married father of six and a devout Christian.

Midway through the episode, while working together in the garden, Bobby Berk, the design expert, brings up the subject of homosexuality with Bobby Camp. Interspersed with their discussion, Berk poignantly shares his personal experience growing up in a Christian family:

Berk: What’s your view on homosexuality?

Camp: Growing up—gays are crazy, gays are wrong.

Berk: That’s what I was taught, too.

[cut to interview with Berk]

Berk: My mother and father were religious, we went to an Assemblies of God church, brimstone, fire. I carried my Bible to school every day. I was the lead singer of a Christian rock band, I was a deacon in my children’s church. Christianity was my life.

[return to gardening scene]

Camp: I know when I grew up I saw so many examples of God doing the right things with people, and lives were being changed, but then I would see such a contrast in some other people who were considered upright and devout and role models, that I just saw the… [Read more…] about Queer Eye and Christian Hypocrisy

Heaven Is Where Love Is

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

For most evangelical Christians (and not a few mainliners), salvation is about going to heaven or hell. Once upon a time I believed that too. I was wrong.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I believe in an afterlife. I believe there is more to this life than this life. And I am sure it will be good, because God is good—as the song says, “God is good, all the time.” I believe that.

If you believe that, then there is no need to worry about heaven or hell in the literal sense. God would not be good if God tortured people. Other people might torture us, and we might torture ourselves, but God won’t. While not literal, hell is still a reality though. And most of usually have to live through some “hells” before we reach “heaven.”

Heaven is where love is, now and forever. I love this passage by Wendell Berry in his book, The Lost World:
“I imagine the dead waking, dazed, into a shadowless light in which they know themselves altogether for the first time. It is a light that is merciless until they can accept its mercy; by it they are at once condemned and redeemed. It is Hell until it is Heaven.”

I don’t know why, like the prodigal in Luke 15, we have to go through “hell” before we get to “heaven.” But such seems to be almost always the case.

Salvation in the biblical tradition is not primarily about the afterlife. It’s about a “way of life” not a “way out of this life.” It’s about the transformation of individuals and whole communities by love, in love, in order… [Read more…] about Heaven Is Where Love Is

God Can’t Use My Life

by Darrell Lackey in Christian Spirituality

So much of my early life in the fundamentalist-evangelical world was about how God was “using” my life then, or, was going to use my life in the future. A common theme or question during those years was: What were my spiritual gifts and was I allowing God to use those gifts in my life? I was told to give my “life” to God. All of me. My talents, gifts, resources, dreams, hopes, and all the rest, so God could use my “life.”

“God is going to use your life son,” I heard more than once growing up. And I know they meant well. They didn’t want a person to waste anything God had given them. None of us do. Much like the US Army, we want to “be all we can be” for God. We want God to use our life. We don’t want to be like the one servant who buried his talents and did nothing with them.

For those old enough to remember the movie The Graduate, there is a scene where Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) is moving past the adults present at his graduation party, trying to escape, really, their questions. Everyone wants to know what Benjamin is going to do with his life, what his plans are and some have advice. One man cryptically pulls Benjamin aside, and almost conspiratorially says one word to him, “plastics.”

This was in the late 60s, so perhaps plastics were the next big thing. Today it would probably be Tesla, Solar, or Bitcoin, I don’t know. We want young people to be “successful” and to live with purpose, vigor, and gusto. We want them to hone their skills and talents—put… [Read more…] about God Can’t Use My Life

My daughter is one of countless children who live in fear since Trump came into power

by Sana Khatib in Current Events

I recently made the difficult decision to send my daughter to a counselor. At her first session, she was so overcome with emotion that she could barely string together a few sentences. How did we get to this point?

Last November, my daughter and I were featured in a video in which we cooked a traditional Syrian holiday meal during Thanksgiving. While many people shared warm and encouraging comments, some comments left us flabbergasted: “This is exactly why Trump wants to get rid of all these minority traitors. GO HOME.” Knowing that somebody watched my beautiful daughter cook with her mother and felt inspired to spew out hateful rhetoric in response was deeply disheartening.

Protecting our children is the most fundamental parental instinct. When our children fall, we pick them up and kiss their scrapes. When they encounter a bully on the playground, our blood boils as we restrain our desire to run to their rescue. So what are parents to do when the bully is our own president who continues to divide our country and encourage xenophobia?

Van Jones of CNN encapsulated the nightmare of a Trump presidency best on election night when he said, “It’s hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bully.’ You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bigot.’ You tell your kids, ‘Do your homework and be prepared.’ And then you have this outcome, and you have people putting children to bed tonight, and they’re afraid of breakfast. They’re afraid of ‘How do I… [Read more…] about My daughter is one of countless children who live in fear since Trump came into power

God, Guns, and Grieving

by Lydia Joy in Current Events

I live in small town USA, so I’m told. Here in rural Virginia, we’re surrounded by farmland. Crops that are dedicated entirely to peanuts, corn, soybeans—and my county is one of the largest suppliers of cotton. With a population of no more than five hundred, a few family-owned businesses, four churches, one stop light, and the nearest shopping mall a thirty mile drive, it’s safe to say we’re smaller than most. I’ve spent most of my childhood here and, with neighbors knowing neighbors, I grew to love the security it provided. When you were in need, you were helped. It didn’t matter for what, someone always would step up.

Growing up in the South, there are advantages to being surrounded by profound history. Heritage is something that is nothing short of identity for many I have known over the years, even if I never shared that feeling. With both of my parents originally from Upstate New York, there was always a disconnect to how strongly rooted those around me were. But I was raised in a fundamentalist church and it was common to see signs of that southern identity everywhere.

“Dixie” was sung for special occasions, and shouting and cheers about how “the South will rise again” regularly occured during Sunday evening services. The Rebel Flag was worn on lapels and Stonewall Jackson’s prayers were recited. Sermons dedicated to America returning to the God that She had turned Her back on were constant. Old Glory, George Washington, Patrick Henry, and General Robert E. Lee… [Read more…] about God, Guns, and Grieving

remember you are dust

by Jill Crainshaw in Christian Spirituality

Embed from Getty Images

Wednesday, February 14, was Ash Wednesday. Many Christians in my community attended worship and left their sanctuaries with ashes smeared on their foreheads to mark the beginning of a Lenten season of reflection and repentance.

On Wednesday, February 14, a gunman shot and killed students and teachers in a Florida school.

This Sunday, the first Sunday in Lent, we hear ancient Gospel words:  “and immediately the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness” (Mark 1). The wilderness is too real in our world—in our hearts—right now. May God have mercy on us as we seek our way.

what prayer dare we utter when
unspeakable horrors silence
songs of children paralyze
tongues of poets we stumble over
all that remains—unspoken—

perhaps some ancient tree will
whisper wisdom into this unending
night—wilderness people do not
recognize its edenic lyric we
are dust to dust we will return we

are all dust and we are all creating
this mad mad world imposing
premature imprints of mortality on
unblemished foreheads of children
turned to ash in our clenching hands

save us creating one from this fickle
foolishness why do we sacrifice innocent
blood to the thirsty ungroundedness of
our being we flinch gritty truth marks
us we are exiles in our own homes

holding our breath as tongues of fire
consume what really matters—save us
open our mouths to exhale the ashy
smell of repentance make our bones
remember we are… [Read more…] about remember you are dust

The Authoritarian and the Finisher of My Faith

by Alex Camire in Fundamentalism

I have a love/hate relationship with institutionalized religion. I love the church, and I miss being part of a local church, but I can hardly abide what the church has become, particularly the modern American church.

There are times when I find myself pointing out all the bad and others when I’m defending any good. I’ve seen the church help a lot of people, yet I’ve seen a lot of harm done as well. And it’s not always clear to me who’s to blame in a system that’s built on an unseen, unheard authority figure.

We were taught in church to give “double honor” to those who held authority. We read First Timothy 5:17 to demonstrate that this was a biblical principle, followed by verse 19 where it loosely says, “don’t accuse your leaders of anything wrong, unless you have a lot of people willing to back you up.” Not that it was ever stated this directly, but, essentially, the message was fall into submission to the leaders over you and don’t question them or their directions.

Obedience was revered as a quality of a morally upright person. It was akin to righteousness, and disobedience or disobedient persons were always made the example of what not to do or how not to act. To be disobedient was to be rebellious and this was always demonized as the worst sort of behavior at the root of all other sins.

There is a study conducted by Stanley Milgram in 1961, aptly referred to as The Milgram Experiment. The purpose of the study was to examine obedience to authority.… [Read more…] about The Authoritarian and the Finisher of My Faith

Jesus the Feminist

by Jean Bonin in Christian Issues

As a little girl Sunday school scholar, my favorite Bible story was the Old Testament story of Deborah, the Prophet turned warrior. I grew up in a time when it was strongly implied, if not outright preached from the pulpit, that a woman’s place was to be subservient to a man’s. Our whole purpose for being created was to serve our husband, therefore our whole purpose had to be to have a husband, and, if you were blessed, you would also have children to serve and a house to clean.

A woman was allowed to serve/lead in church as long as she was ministering to women, or until a man stepped up to take over whatever ministry it was that had temporarily allowed a woman at the helm. As I matured, so it seemed did the church—the music changed and got louder, the organ was replaced by drums, pastors wore trendier clothes—but the place of women seemed to stay the same. Now we were assured from a plexiglass pulpit that we weren’t less than a man in God’s sight, we were just different—the difference being that we just weren’t leadership material. But I still had my story of Deborah to cling to.
Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment. One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you:… [Read more…] about Jesus the Feminist