Unequal Time

make slow the clock

that measures out the time

of life I make with the partner of my heart
of love made, and songs sung, of laughter and the relief of being totally understood

of fleeting moments when magic exists and my breath stops
of heart swells that bring waves of love and the desperation to wring every glistening drop of life i can muster from my tininess
of enjoyment and experience of all made right and love that wins no matter the darkness it faces

make swift the clock

that measures out the time

of separation from the ones who comprise my heart
of hard talks, and hurt feelings, and the pain that comes from hearing hard things

of moments that make me feel like hope has lost
of hearts breaking because of injustices suffered, innocence lost and the discontent of brokenness
of hatred and the gulf of separation between us and them, you and me, heaven and human

God and Homosexuality: A Weekly Exploration

Last week my husband challenged me to explore this issue and share with him what I found. I decided I also wanted to share this journey with you. So today I am embarking on a new Monday series. For the next several weeks I will be exploring my understanding of the passages most often used to “prove” that homosexuality (or at the very least homosexual acts themselves) are sinful.

I feel it is important to start with an understanding of the way I read scripture and the way I don’t read scripture. When I pull up my Bible on my chosen Apple product, I no longer read it as a blue print, owner’s manual for life or constitution.  Instead, I try to read the Bible these days as a living breathing library of books. A library of books written by humans who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Books not written in a vacuum, but written by a person with a specific set of talents, a specific vocabulary and a specific set of life experiences who lived in a specific time and in a specific culture. I no longer look at every word of the Bible as a telling of exactly what God wanted to happen; rather, I look at the Bible  as a collection of poems, prose, psalms and prophesies. Yes, some of them are history (they actually happened, some did not but are merely stories, and some we will never be sure). I believe that they all come together to tell an amazing story. It is a story of redemption, of love, of reconciliation. The books in the library we call the Bible tell the story not necessarily of what God wanted to happen but rather they tell the stories God wanted us to hear. Just like us, God tells us stories for a specific purpose. Sometimes to fill us with wonder and delight, sometimes to teach us a lesson, sometimes to stir our hearts against injustice, always to move us to action; always to move us toward love.

If you want to read a book that explains the way I look at the Bible you can check out The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight. I highly recommend it. In this book the author talks about how God spoke in Moses‘ days in Moses’ ways and in Paul’s days in Paul’s ways etc, etc.

I am looking forward to taking this journey with you. I hope that it is mutually beneficial for all of us.

Linkfest

Awesome Organizations:

The Evangelical & Ecumenical Women’s Caucus – Christian Feminism Today

We Are Christian Feminists
EEWC affirms that the Bible supports the equality of the sexes.
We believe that our society and churches have irresponsibly encouraged men to domination and women to passivity.
We proclaim God’s redemptive word on mutuality and active discipleship.
We value inclusive images and language for God.
We advocate ordination of women and full expression of women’s leadership and spiritual gifts.
We Are Inclusive
EEWC is evangelical because our formation was rooted in the belief that the Gospel is good news for all persons.
EEWC is ecumenical because we recognize that faith is expressed through a rich diversity of traditions and forms of spirituality.
We offer a community of safety for all who have experienced abuse, marginalization, or exclusion by Christian churches.
We have discovered that the expansiveness of God calls us to be an inclusive community.
We Welcome You

Gay Christian Network

The Gay Christian Network (GCN) is a nonprofit ministry supporting Christians worldwide who happen to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Our mission, “sharing Christ’s light and love for all,” is carried out in 5 primary directions, to impact individuals, families, communities, churches, and the world.

Christians for Biblical Equality

CBE affirms and promotes the biblical truth that all believers—without regard to gender, ethnicity or class—must exercise their God-given gifts with equal authority and equal responsibility in church, home and world.

Inspiring Blogs

A Worthy Question: ‘Why Do You Judge Your Brother?’ – Wade Burleson

 A sincere person sent me a question after my post on singer Whitney Houston: “I wonder how you accept her as a believer, seeing her life appeared to not align with the Lord?”

Hey, You’re a Pastor’s Kid – Why Aren’t You Crazy? – Scott Thomas

According to several sources (Pike, 2009, Calvin, 2008, Montgomery, 2006, et al) eighty percent of adult children of pastors surveyed have had to seek professional help for depression.

Sadly, despite the testimony of scripture and the command of Christ Himself, church history is also the history of the silencing of women as Christ’s witnesses.
The truth is that tomorrow’s problems are going to be caused by today’s solutions. I don’t want a better tomorrow. I want a different one.

“You know, we live in a culture where men are not really celebrated for love,” says Fugelsang. “And so for me, the most defining personal dynamic in my life has been watching a man madly in love with his wife.”

“And now I’m going to be a dad for the first time,” he continues. “[And] the fact of the matter is, my kid gets to grow up in this beautiful, complicated world because many years ago, some guy in Brooklyn chose love.”

From Complementarian to Egalitarian: When God’s Call Inspires Change – Kristen Marble

Isn’t that, after all, how change happens? Our blinders and filters shift, and we are faced with resolving the tension between our current reality and our faith. I’m reminded of Proverbs 24:12, “Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act.”

When Your Child ‘Comes Out’ To You – Andrew Marin

And for goodness sake, with the amount of LGBT youth who have had horrific coming out experiences with their parents, which often leads to suicide, I plead with you to LOVE YOUR KIDS! Unconditionally. Please. I’m tired that the norm experience in our culture is that kids become homeless and family-less because parents can’t handle their child’s sexuality. That child is your flesh and blood. Love them. Please. Please. And if you are a Christian, for goodness sake, you are mandated to do this.

Kickstarting the Emergent Conversation – Steve Knight

For a long time, the emergent conversation has been labeled and criticized (to some degree, rightly) as a mostly white male phenomenon. Thankfully, that is not the reality on the ground any longer. Over the years, the conversation has become much more diverse — racially, ethnically, socio-politically, as well as theologically. But that story hasn’t really been told, and so the movement (heck, let’s call it a movement) still is seen by some as not relevant to them or not relevant at all because of its perceived persistent homogeneity.

Bait and switch afflicts contemporary Christian society – Richard Beck

Waking up trying to be a little more kind, more generous, more interruptible, more forgiving, more humble, more civil, more tolerant. Do these things, and prayer and worship will come alongside to support us.

I truly want people to spend time working on their relationship with God. I just want them to do it by taking the time to care about the person standing right in front of them.

Opinion: What ‘Glee’ tells us about new LGBT allies

Today, we are encountering a different type of ally: one who supports LGBT people because they believe it’s the Christian thing to do. So they are supportive of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people though they may be conflicted over how they feel about “gay pride.”

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/pearl-jam-sings-jeremy-lin/1387180

Pearl Jam sings Jeremy (Lin)

What If God Was One of Us?

This week on American Idol Steven Tyler said something profound. The judges had just given Heejun Han the news that he would be part of this season’s top 24. Remarkably,Heejun had never sung in public before he auditioned for the show. After the tears and the hugs, Steven looks him in the eye and says, “You know, what is funny man is – that we are all bozos on the bus, until we find some way to express ourselves.” Steven goes on to say that some people express themselves through being a “lawyer or this or that” but … ” You and me, we take everything we have ever learned, and let it out (all of it) through our singing. You let it all out, we are touched by it.” Steven’s quote made me think of the above Joan Osbourne song (written by Eric Bazilian of The Hooters), One of Us.

If God had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question

And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

When this song first came out it was widely criticized. People said the word slob shouldn’t be used of God incarnate. I think they missed the point. You know what though? God is one of us! That is the whole point. He did become “just a slob like one of us.”  Webster says that slob can simply mean, “an ordinary person.” Philippians 2:5-11 says:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He came here, that is the whole point. He didn’t stay away. He became a “slob like one of us” so that we could see that he loved us (John 3:16-17) and that he isn’t condemning us. He found a way to express that love, he found his voice and he poured all of himself into feeling what we feel, going where we go and suffering where we suffer. And guess what? He is STILL with us. He is the best part of humanity. He represents what it is to be fully human. His image is borne throughout the earth wherever people draw breath. And he reminds us that we are all along for the ride, “bozos on the bus” if you will, just trying to find our way to express our particular facet of His glorious image; To find our way home.

Have you ever felt like a bozo on the bus? I know I do, and I know Jesus did too. You know how I know? Because he experienced what it is to be one of us.

Recently, through this blog and through all of you, I feel like I have found my voice. Listen close, lean in and find yours. On your next spin on the bus of your life, stop and take a minute to truly hear the expression of God himself in the “bozo” in the seat next to you; Because you know what? That bozo bears the image of the God of the universe.

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Stop to hear the voices of the stranger (bozo) on the bus”   Matthew 25:40

recommended links:  http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/28380-what-diversity-should-look-like

Weavers

Conversation Over.

Yesterday I took a road trip to Waco with one of my favorite people to hear Rachel Held Evans speak at Baylor University‘s chapel service. Let’s just say, I went expecting awesomeness and I was not disappointed. We didn’t just get to hear Rachel speak at chapel, we also got to head to “The Bobo” (The Bobo Spiritual Life Center) and participate in a brown bag lunch Q & R session. When I walked into the room I noticed there was an open seat next to RHE and well, I’m not gonna lie, I totally almost ran to sit in it. There were several things I took away from my day at Baylor.

 1. Truett Seminary is emergent and egalitarian friendly! Who knew, right? Yesterday I met Ryan Richardson and his lovely wife Kristen. He is an Associate Chaplain and the Director of Worship at Baylor and she is an Associate Chaplain and Director for Formation and Baptist Student Ministries. He enthusiastically told me that Truett Seminary has been quite egalitarian for several years. Ryan is responsible for scheduling the chapel speakers and has brought in speakers like Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt and, of course, Rachel Held Evans (twice!).

 2. While Rachel was talking she said something that caught my ear. The Bible is a conversation starter not a conversation ender. We often make the Bible something it never says it is. We call it a guide book, a blue print, a manual and a constitution, when in reality it is none of these. I like McLaren’s picture of the Bible as a library.

 First, we must displace the habit of reading the Bible flatly. In a constitution, Article 5 has the same authority as Article 2. When the Bible is read this way, Jesus’ life and words are pressed down and flattened to the same level as those of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Paul, and Jude. In this approach, the words of and about Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul, and Jude are all “inspired Scripture,” so they all have the same value and authority. This elevation of the Bible above Christ is remarkably common in conservative churches, where it would never be stated so baldly, but is nevertheless rampant. In this light, it’s interesting to analyze the use of the words “Bible” and “biblical” in names and discourse. Think of the subtle (but potentially significant) difference between a Bible church and a community of disciples of Christ, or a Bible college and a discipleship college, or a Bible teacher and a disciple-maker. Think of the difference between arguing that an idea or behavior is biblical (meaning one can use constitutional reading techniques to justify it) and claiming that it is Christ-like. One might argue (by avoiding everything we’re recommending here!) that it is biblical to commit genocide by quoting Deuteronomy 7, but one could never claim it is Christ-like.

When we view the Bible as a library, we are free to place more importance on the words of Jesus over the words of Paul or the words about genocide. Jesus is -and was – God made flesh. He is the perfect representation of all we are to strive to become. We are encouraged to have the mind of Christ, not the mind of Moses or even of Paul. Rachel talked about this again in her post yesterday about Christian Smith’s book, The Bible Made Impossible. Please forgive the quote within a quote but I thought it was a good insight.

In The Bible Made Impossible, Smith tackles the problem of  “biblicism,” which he defines as “a theory about the Bible that emphasizes together its exclusive authority, infallibility, perspicuity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability.”

Biblicism falls apart, Smith says, because of the “the problem of pervasive interpretive pluralism,” for “even among presumably well-intentioned readers—including many evangelical biblicists—the Bible, after their very best efforts to understand it, says and teaches very different things about most significant topics…It becomes beside the point to assert a text to be solely authoritative or inerrant, for instance, when, lo and behold, it gives rise to a host of many divergent teachings on important matters.”

3. Another point she made that I loved was that the Bible does not layout one path to biblical womanhood (or manhood for that manner). She pointed out that often today, the 50s ideal of June Cleaver is lifted up as the model of biblical womanhood. In reality, the world and time in which the Bible was written had never seen the likes of June Cleaver. In fact, you can search high and low in scripture and you will not find a single woman who fits that model. The Bible is full of woman and about the only thing that is for sure is that every one of them is unique and different and has her own gifts just like all of us. I don’t know about you, but I am so comforted that God doesn’t choose to give women just one blueprint of what biblical womanhood is all about, but instead provides many vastly different examples of what it means to be an Aishat Chayil! Woman of Valor!!

4. I was also struck by the story Rachel told about the ceremony she and her friend had honoring the women of the Bible who were victims of violence perpetrated in the name of God. She talked about how we need to remember them, how we need to honor them by telling their stories. It is easy to read over the difficult passages of the Bible and forget that these were real people with real lives who were made to suffer in the name of God. I don’t think these stories are included in our library we call the Bible because it is the way things were supposed to be.  Rather, these stories serve as examples of what horrible things can be done in the name of God. I think these stories are warnings. God’s way of saying, this isn’t me, this isn’t what I want…stop it. “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” Ultimately, God sends his son because the message just doesn’t seem to be coming through. Jesus comes to love, to sacrifice, to ransom the captives and set at liberty those who are being oppressed. He comes to save not to condemn. He comes to forgive sin not to throw a stone.

There were many, many more things that I took away from my trip and hopefully I will get a chance to share more of them later. Suffice it to say that if Rachel is coming to somewhere close to you, I encourage you to take a little road trip to see her. Conversation over.

Dear Victims of Rape and Sexual Abuse

This letter was written by my friend Alex Trim. It made me cry. I think this is a message everyone needs to hear so I asked Alex if I could share it with you.

Dear Victims of Rape and Sexual Abuse,

It was not your fault. You did not ask for it in any way, shape, or form. Your skirt or shorts were not too short, your jeans were not too tight. You were not showing too much cleavage. You were not flirting, and you did not consent. If you were drugged, or beaten, that was not a mistake you made. God Loves you. I Love you. Prayers are made often and with Sincerity.

You are Beautiful. You are not Ugly. You are Loved. You are not a Whore. You mean Something. Your are not Damaged Goods. You have a Purpose. You are not a Waste. You are held with a view of Pride and Joy by Many. You are not an Object of Lust for Few. You are not a Trophy, nor a Prize. You are a Specially made, Wondrous Creature of God.

No Shame. No Guilt. No Excuses. No Blame. No Heartache.

You are Strong. You are Woman. Live like you own the Power you already Wield.

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Raped Too Much?

This weekend on Fox News Liz Trotta, no stranger to controversy, showed herself to be totally insensitive and strangely misogynistic. In her discussion with host Eric Shawn she made several inflammatory statements.

 “Women once more, the feminists, going, wanting to be warriors and victims at the same time.”

Let me get this straight: she is saying if women sign up to fight for freedom and their country then they should expect to be raped and not complain about it. In other words, they should not expect to be able to serve alongside men without being sexually assaulted by her fellow soldiers.

“The sexual abuse report says there has been, since 2006, a 64% increase in violent sexual assaults. Now, what did they expect? These people are in close contact.”

What about every law abiding honorable male who has ever served in the military? They should receive medals for restraint! After all,no man can keep himself from raping a woman when they are “in close contact.” So, Ms. Trotta, should every woman who is in “close contact with a man” expect to be raped?

“So, you have this whole bureaucracy being built up with all kinds of levels of people to support women in the military who are now being RAPED TOO MUCH.”

Now honestly, is this woman trying to assert that there is an amount of rape which is not “too much”?  Exactly how much rape is too much, Ms. Trotta?

Ms. Trotta lays the responsibilities for these rapes squarely at the feet of “the feminist.” Dictionary.com defines feminist as one who is, “advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.”  I fail to see how advocating for such rights causes fellow soldiersto rape one another. After all, I am assuming Ms. Trotta is not herself a feminist and yet she seems to think that the raping of female soldiers is to be expected. Perhaps people with her way of thinking are actually the problem and not “the feminist”.

Sadly, this just seems like the same worn out reasoning that doing the wrong thing, acting the wrong way, wearing the wrong clothes, or frankly just having a vagina means women are asking for it. Please. Really? Are we STILL blaming the women for all sexual sin?

Melissa McEwan in her book Shakesville puts it this way:

Rape culture is 1 in 6 women being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. Rape culture is not even talking about the reality that many women are sexually assaulted multiple times in their lives. Rape culture is the way in which the constant threat of sexual assault affects women’s daily movements. Rape culture is telling girls and women to be careful about what you wear, how you wear it, how you carry yourself, where you walk, when you walk there, with whom you walk, whom you trust, what you do, where you do it, with whom you do it, what you drink, how much you drink, whether you make eye contact, if you’re alone, if you’re with a stranger, if you’re in a group, if you’re in a group of strangers, if it’s dark, if the area is unfamiliar, if you’re carrying something, how you carry it, what kind of shoes you’re wearing in case you have to run, what kind of purse you carry, what jewelry you wear, what time it is, what street it is, what environment it is, how many people you sleep with, what kind of people you sleep with, who your friends are, to whom you give your number, who’s around when the delivery guy comes, to get an apartment where you can see who’s at the door before they can see you, to check before you open the door to the delivery guy, to own a dog or a dog-sound-making machine, to get a roommate, to take self-defense, to always be alert always pay attention always watch your back always be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down for a moment lest you be sexually assaulted and if you are and didn’t follow all the rules it’s your fault.

Apparently now we can add if you join the military and if you are in close contact with men to this list. The EVER. GROWING. LIST.  Maybe, just maybe, Ms. Trotta would be happier if we all wore burqas and never left the house unless we were with a male relative. After all, that would surely fix the problem.

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corner of the sky

i want to
tear off a corner of the sky
and keep it in my pocket
like a cosmic lucky penny

i want to
turn it over between my fingers and let the daylight slip through
like a sunshiny reminder to
love

i want to
take it out and stare into
it’s inky blackness
and let the stars remind me to
dream

i want to
tear of a corner of the sky
and keep it in a locket
next to my heart
like a photo of
you

Co-creating Love.

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble…Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.
To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

From “The Irrational Season” by Madeleine L’Engle

Co-creating Love

In which our love is
A miracle we co-create
A mosaic of a million tiles
That we lay meticulously
And then haphazardly
That we rip up and lay again
When their pattern doesn’t suit us

In which the tearing up
Leaves scars
That we cover over with beauty
And though we know they are there
We choose to see the magnificence
Our creativity has wrought

In which we go back
And examine each swirl and color
And celebrate their luminescence
And though it is something
We have made together
It still surprises us

In which we never stop discovering
Ourselves as artisans
What we are capable of
And how our talents bring
Contrast and compliment
To the other design

In which we co-create
Ourselves into one artist
With two hearts
In which we co-create
The love we are becoming

– Michelle Morr Krabill

Little children, love one another.  – John the Revelator

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