Finding meaning and purpose in a world of hurry and hustle
After spending decades in the dark, the issues of sexism and sexual abuse in the Protestant Church have finally come front and center. In the wake of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, offensive behaviors towards women that were once ignored are now being publicly called out.
For instance, when Courtland Sykes, a candidate for the Republican nomination in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race, recently Continue Reading
I am pretty sure we might actually be in danger of running out of dumpsters in which to have fires in this country.
While some individuals like to start a disproportionate number of dumpster fires, they’re coming from all directions—conservatives and liberals, religious and non-religious, men and women. There is no monopoly on dumpster fires. The toxic conversations burn so brightly, it’s hard to look away from them. Their powerful glow beckons us to join in the mayhem, only to fan the flames and add to the toxicity.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”How can we get ourselves to step outside our comfort zone and engage with people who are different from us? We can start by working on changing our expectations of such interactions.” quote=”How can we get ourselves to step outside our comfort zone and engage with people who are different from us? We can start by working on changing our expectations of such interactions.” theme=”style1″]
Have you ever avoided talking to someone who was different from you because you thought it would be awkward or uncomfortable?
If so, you’re not alone. People often expect such interactions to go poorly. Thinking about interacting with someone who is different from us can make us feel anxious and stressed, so we often do what we can to avoid it.
The same differences between people that can lead to anxiety and avoidance were what initially drew me to the field Continue Reading
[click_to_tweet tweet=”What if intentionally covering up the truth is not the only thing churches need to worry about? When investigations of sexual abuse by church leaders are handled internally, we risk missing the truth in the first place.” quote=”What if intentionally covering up the truth is not the only thing churches need to worry about? When investigations of sexual abuse by church leaders are handled internally, we risk missing the truth in the first place.” theme=”style1″]
Many observers were troubled when Andy Savage, a pastor at Highpoint Church in Memphis, received a standing ovation from his congregation for his admission of a “sexual incident” with a 17-year-old high-school student when he was a youth leader at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church in Texas. They have reason to be troubled.