Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

From Protester to Peacemaker: A Day in the Life of a (Former) Sidewalk Counselor

by Sandy Daniels in Christian Issues

I can’t remember what it was that prompted me. Maybe someone from church had sent me an email with an article or photo that struck a chord. Whatever the reason, there I was at 1 a.m. in front of the computer furiously searching, and reading, and staring, and crying, and searching some more.

I knew what abortion was. More than a few people had tried to convince me to have one when I got pregnant at sixteen. I knew what it was. But I didn’t know what it was. As I clicked through photo after gruesome photo, bile rose in my throat. I stared down at my own baby, asleep at my breast, and sobbed. I had to do something. And so, with sincere intentions, I started down the path to becoming a person I would later grow to hate.

Over the next year, I became involved with an organization called the Pro-life Action League. A sweet older couple, Jim and Barbara (not their real names), befriended me over the phone, and began to train me to become a “warrior for the unborn.” They were thrilled with my enthusiasm, and thought my young age made me the perfect candidate for making clinic calls. These calls were critical, because in order to successfully protest, we needed to know what days the clinic would be performing abortions in any given week.

The clinic worker would ask some routine questions, like when was the first day of my last period? How old was I? By the end of the call, I’d have an appointment scheduled under a fake name, and we’d have all the information we needed.… [Read more…] about From Protester to Peacemaker: A Day in the Life of a (Former) Sidewalk Counselor

We're Not The First

by Christina Krost in Christian Spirituality

It’s a rough time to work for the church and her people.

In the past few weeks I’ve been riding waves of emotion while following the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which took place last month in Portland, Oregon. It nearly ripped the church apart and deferred work on LGBTQI inclusion to a committee which will convene at a later date.

My heart broke as it also voted down measures to divest from fossil fuels and severed a relationship with an organization that was integral to maternal health care around the world. It ran out of time to take up other important legislation from United Methodist Women that would have helped elevate women and children globally.

This church, my church, which has nurtured and affirmed my husband’s call to ministry and has literally sheltered my family through the roughest time in our lives, is weighing heavy on my spirit.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Real life happened in these last weeks, too:

The check engine light came on in the van. Thankfully, tightening the gas cap did the trick.
My daughter Ava turned 7 and was celebrated with birthday treats for her class and a butterfly-themed party with her friends.
The girls finished up first- and fifth-grade and recognized their teachers for their steadfast care and guidance.
My moms group at church decided to move in another direction this fall, which is part relief and part challenge.
My youngest daughter Harper began full-time daycare this week. We’re wrestling with… [Read more…] about We're Not The First

The Spirituality of Bass Fishing

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

When I was a kid I loved to fish. Then life happened. I became preoccupied with many other things. By becoming consumed in church work I thought I was doing God’s work and didn’t have time for such trivial matters like fishing.

Last year I came to a point where my passion for things “religious” had fizzled and I was all dried up. Then a church member took me bass fishing and I fell in love with a first love all over again. It has given me new life. The night before I’m headed to the lake I’m like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I am doing something I love to do just for the love of doing it. I have never been more alive. When I’m making the hour and fifteen minute drive to the beautiful lake where I kayak fish for largemouth bass, I am thanking God much of the way for simply having the opportunity to do something I truly love to do. I believe it is making me a better person.

I recently posted this on my Facebook page:
I am KISSING PARTISAN POLITICAL POSTS GOODBYE. I have made a decision to go on an indefinite fast from writing or posting any piece that names political parties or persons. I will still post on issues of justice, but I will stick strictly to the issues. I can see myself writing a piece such as, “Why mass, indiscriminate deportation is morally wrong” but I would not mention any political party or persons. This election cycle will be filled with lots of name calling and ugliness. As a Jesus follower my first priority must be to love inclusively, especially… [Read more…] about The Spirituality of Bass Fishing

For God So Loved the Whole World: Confessions of a green, liberal, Christian tree hugger 

by Randal Rauser in Christian Issues

About a year ago I was invited to speak at a church conference on the topic of my 2013 book What On Earth Do We Know About Heaven? However, the two gentlemen who had extended the invitation did have one concern before proceeding. When they’d heard me talk previously about the church’s mission in the world, I had included a concern for the environment and animals alongside the traditional evangelical concern for evangelism. And this left them suspicious. “That sounds like the ‘Green’ movement!” one of them said accusingly, as if “Green” were a four letter word.

In my defense, I noted that God called human beings to be good stewards of the earth (Genesis 1:28). And I pointed out that just as the fall had affected all creation, so Paul promised the redeeming work of Christ would be good news for all creation (Romans 8:19-21). I concluded my brief homily for environmental stewardship with a triumphant flourish: If Christ was working to save the entire world, shouldn’t that be our mandate as well?

The two men stared back at me, clearly unconvinced. Then one replied: “Look, if I have to choose between worrying about the environment and telling people about Jesus, I’ll tell people about Jesus!”

And that was it. These two men had concluded that I was some kind of green, liberal Christian tree hugger who had more concern for spotted owls than lost souls. With that, the invitation to speak was quickly withdrawn.

In retrospect, it’s just as well. I could hardly speak at a… [Read more…] about For God So Loved the Whole World: Confessions of a green, liberal, Christian tree hugger 

Sunday Outing: A Transgender Woman Finds Acceptance

by Brettany Renee Blatchley in LGBT

“Yes, these women’s hands,” she said …

A cisgender woman I befriended at church a few months ago noticed I am unusual, but assumed that I was simply a tall woman of Scandinavian stock (which is largely true).

Sunday, I was driving her home from worship, and she made a comment in broken English, saying, “Renée, you did [such-and-such] as little girl?”

I looked at her tenderly, shook my head as I gently said, “Olga, I was never a little girl.”

Her eyes widened, “What?! You boy then?!”

With conviction I spoke, “Not exactly Olga.”

We were close to her house, and as we turned the corner, I said, “Remember when I told you about my spouse and said you can ask me anything? Would you like to know more about who I am?”

Olga is a new US citizen, in her mid sixties, and from Romania. She is kind-hearted, weather-beaten, deeply spiritual, and does not speak English well.

We stopped in her driveway, and I gently tried to explain, and then said, “Please let me show you.” I showed her my transitional video on my phone. She had difficulty understanding how this could be.

As the different pictures of me changing drew closer to the present, she kept asking, “Is that you? Is that you?” and then about two-thirds through she exclaimed, “That’s you! That’s you–I know your smile!”

…then she took my hands saying, “Don’t cry, don’t cry…”

She said, “Renée! You are woman! If God not want you that way, you would not be. You still my sister! But don’t tell… [Read more…] about Sunday Outing: A Transgender Woman Finds Acceptance

An Act of Love: Frank Schaefer, United Methodists and Homosexuality

by in Christian Issues, LGBT, Movie Reviews

If you pay attention to issues relating to homosexuality and Christianity, you probably know about Frank Schaefer, the United Methodist minister who was defrocked in 2013 for performing his son’s same-sex wedding. But unless you were directly involved with those events, you probably don’t know the details surrounding Schaefer’s trial or the deeply personal struggle his family faced.

The new documentary film An Act of Love brings the personal side of Schaefer’s story to the screen, casting valuable light on what was–depending on your perspective–either a valiant fight for orthodoxy, or a pivotal moment in Christianity’s move toward a more progressive stance on human sexuality.

Through candid and often touching interviews with Schaefer, his wife and children, members of his former church, and leaders within the United Methodist community, director Scott Sheppard examines Schaefer’s story as well as the ongoing divide over LGBT issues within the UMC denomination.

Particularly troubling, but sadly all too believable, is the revelation that the initial rancor within Schaefer’s congregation that ultimately led to his ouster had nothing to do a same-sex wedding, but instead stemmed from conflicts over contemporary versus traditional worship services. If we can’t negotiate compromise when it comes to choosing a guitar or a choir, how can we expect to reasonably deal with far more serious issues?

As the film makes clear, Schaefer is not alone in his struggle for a more… [Read more…] about An Act of Love: Frank Schaefer, United Methodists and Homosexuality

Exploring Biblical Gender Equality in Kenya

by in Christian Issues

Upon returning from a family vacation at the end of last May, I received a curious email invitation from a church leader in Kenya named Chris Lusweti. He had written to ask me to speak on the topic of biblical gender equality at their 2016 Pastors’ and Church Leaders’ Conference.

I was intrigued by the international invitation, but I was also filled with questions: Was this a legitimate request? Who was Chris Lusweti? What would actually be involved in getting me over to Kenya? My mind and heart grappled with the potential of this being a doable God-thing … or maybe not!

Over the next few months I got to know Bishop Chris, the pastor/overseer of a group of churches based out of Eldoret, Kenya. I also received confirmation from a number of American church leaders who had been there to speak at various pastors conferences over the years on timely Christian leadership topics.

Bishop Chris was certainly progressive in wanting someone to speak about biblical gender equality in his country, since Africa has a deeply patriarchal culture. The Holy Spirit has been moving in so many places around the world to give people answers on this topic, and the Lord was clearly at work among this particular network of church leaders.

For the next three months, I conducted in-depth research on biblical gender equality. I borrowed insights from a variety of scholars and authors and compiled this information into a tapestry of words that would best convey all I wanted to cover in a four day… [Read more…] about Exploring Biblical Gender Equality in Kenya

Dear Christian, the world isn't getting worse. In fact, it's probably getting better.

by Randal Rauser in Christian Issues

Not all Christians believe the world is getting worse. But those who hold to what is called “premillennialism” do, and they tend to dominate the evangelical conversation in North America. (In premillennialism, the expectation is that the world will get worse and worse overall until Christ enters history and establishes his peaceable milllennial kingdom.)

Premillennial evangelicals tend to be rather selective in identifying putative evidence that the world is getting worse. For example, they focus on issues like gay marriage and transgender washrooms. My concern here is not to debate the morality of gay marriage or transgender washrooms. Rather, my point is that even if you do believe that these things are morally errant, it would be absurd to think isolated examples like those are sufficient to establish an overall trajectory of societal decay.

As a seminary professor for the last fifteen years, I regularly encounter this pessimistic perspective in my students. I continue to be dismayed at how many Christians blithely assume things are getting worse. But I’ve found one simple way to shake up their perspective: I borrow a famous thought experiment from philosopher John Rawls in which Rawls proposes a way to envision the just society.

Here’s how my version goes: imagine that you are about to be born, but you do not know what gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic status you will have when born. Nor do you know whether you will have a physical or mental disability. With that in… [Read more…] about Dear Christian, the world isn't getting worse. In fact, it's probably getting better.

Unending Black Death and the Rise of Fascism in America

by Kenneth Vandergriff in Current Events

Embed from Getty Images

Another young, black man shot in the back by police. The cycle of unending black and brown death pushes me to tears. The young man wasn’t innocent. There was a warrant for his arrest. But he was trying to make himself a better person. A father of two working on his GRE who couldn’t escape the life he once led. Unending black and brown death.

A disenfranchised young man half a world away and two generations prior to this shooting sits in the back of a packed room of disenfranchised men. He watches as someone takes a podium and begins to talk about how the country was great once, how it could be great again. It resonates with him. Over the next few months he begins to speak the same way. It turns out he has a way with words, a charisma that few can match. He begins a movement which overtakes the country. What is wrong with the country? How can we make the country great again? Eliminate the Jews.

A young man longs for the American dream. He starts a business. He fails multiple times but he keeps moving forward. He has a brashness about him that is charming in one moment and revolting in the next. He marries and divorces. He files bankruptcies. He finds his niche in reality television and a hairstyle that looks like the worst hair piece ever made. He runs for President. At first it seems like a joke. It seems that at some point his “movement” will blow over. It doesn’t.

What do the cycle of unending black and brown death, the rise and power of Adolf… [Read more…] about Unending Black Death and the Rise of Fascism in America

How LGBTQ People Can Revitalize Christianity

by in Book Reviews

Elizabeth Edman is a queer priest. She is also a priestly queer. It is from the perspective of these intertwined and inseparable identities that her new book (on sale tomorrow), Queer Virtue (Beacon Press, $25.95), challenges Christians to embrace queerness and to boldly proclaim a faith that “is and must be queer” (3).

Of course Edman doesn’t mean that straight Christians should turn gay. Queerness extends far beyond sexuality, it is “an impulse to disrupt any and all efforts to reduce into simplistic dualisms our experience of life, of God” (3). Queerness stands at direct odds with binary distinctions, legalism, and fundamentalism. It is an affront to the side of Christianity that dominates so much of the current public discourse about matters of faith and ethics.

Edman has had enough of the violence done in the name of Christianity—not just the physical, but also the spiritual, emotional, and psychological violence—and in Queer Virtue calls upon the progressive church to take back the ground they have ceded to the voices on the right and to embrace the “other,” to rupture the status quo, and to realize a new vision of personal and corporate religious life. It is her hope that lessons gleaned from queer experience “will provide trajectories for Christian inquiry that could bring new energy and urgency to the progressive church and its proclamation of the gospel” (13).

In Queer Virtue, Edman explores the essential teachings of Christian… [Read more…] about How LGBTQ People Can Revitalize Christianity