Brian, thank you for acknowledging and validating how women, people of color, and those with different genders often feel ostracized in organized religion. It baffles me and breaks my heart that, by and large, many Christian churches have this tacit - and sometimes very overt - agreement that white/male/conservative/straight people are God's highest chosen ones. The rest of us are supposed to "submit," which I find has been perverted to mean whatever a person who wants to abuse or manipulate or weaponize that word wants it to mean.
We need to do better as Christians. I am grateful, heartened, relieved, and encouraged that you are doing this type of ministry! To change the contours of how we live as Christians, what the word "Christian" presents to the rest of the world. My spiritual director often tells me that it's easy to say we believe IN Jesus, but to BELIEVE Jesus means we have to also follow him to the edges of society, to the margins where the "outcasts" have been thrown out of their communities.
Christianity isn't for the elite and privileged few. It's for those who need healing, for those humble enough to admit they are broken and in need of a merciful savior. And we who call ourselves Christian are meant to mirror God's mercy in the world.
Jeannie, thank you for always reading and for your thoughtful responses. As you well know, sometimes as writers it can feel like the stuff we put out just disappears into the ether. Your feedback means so much. Thank you.
Brian, thank you for acknowledging and validating how women, people of color, and those with different genders often feel ostracized in organized religion. It baffles me and breaks my heart that, by and large, many Christian churches have this tacit - and sometimes very overt - agreement that white/male/conservative/straight people are God's highest chosen ones. The rest of us are supposed to "submit," which I find has been perverted to mean whatever a person who wants to abuse or manipulate or weaponize that word wants it to mean.
We need to do better as Christians. I am grateful, heartened, relieved, and encouraged that you are doing this type of ministry! To change the contours of how we live as Christians, what the word "Christian" presents to the rest of the world. My spiritual director often tells me that it's easy to say we believe IN Jesus, but to BELIEVE Jesus means we have to also follow him to the edges of society, to the margins where the "outcasts" have been thrown out of their communities.
Christianity isn't for the elite and privileged few. It's for those who need healing, for those humble enough to admit they are broken and in need of a merciful savior. And we who call ourselves Christian are meant to mirror God's mercy in the world.
Jeannie, thank you for always reading and for your thoughtful responses. As you well know, sometimes as writers it can feel like the stuff we put out just disappears into the ether. Your feedback means so much. Thank you.
I definitely know how that feels. I get crickets almost every time I post something!