Sunday Superlatives 3/17/13

Prayer for the day:  Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ
on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ
when I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone
who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone
who speaks of me, Christ in every eye
that sees me, Christ in every ear that
hears me. (St. Patrick’s Breastplate)

Around the Blogosphere…

Funniest:
The Lutheran Satire with “St. Patrick’s Bad Analogies”

Wisest:
Lisa-Jo
Baker with “There is no such thing as perfect hospitality”

“If I wait for my house or my life to be perfect before ever
inviting someone into it, I just might never let anyone in.”

[Related: Henri Nouwen on hospitality]

Truest:


Ann Voskamp with “Letters to the Wounded #2”

“And maybe
our deafening silence is just this: Truth necessitates confrontation — and a
whole lot of us are more chicken than Christian. We’d rather
save our own skin, than the skin of the bruised and battered and beaten. We’re
more in love with self-preservation than with Savior-glorification. We’d rather make pain invisible than
say injustice is intolerable — so the injustice continues.”

Bravest:

Nate Pyle with “Confronting the Lie: God Won’t Give You More Than You Can
Handle”

“Ultimately, it isn’t about the questions.  Behind the
questions is a deep current of emotion threatening to overtake us.  But
too often, when the fracture in the universe threatens to swallow us up in pain
we fail to get fully present to our emotions.  In those moments I think we
do one of two things.  Either we ask the questions but never investigate
what emotion is driving those questions, or we resort to some banal Christian
slogan to try and make us feel better. This experience forced me to look at one
such statement that gets spouted often when people go through a lot:  God
won’t give you more than you can handle.  If I may be so bold, let’s
just call that what it is...

Most Intriguing:
Greg Boyd with “Getting Honest About the Dark Side of the
Bible”

“I only began to discern a way to understand how horrific
depictions of God in Scripture bear witness to the crucified Christ when I
finally stopped trying to deny these depictions were horrific. So long as we
try to tidy up, sanitize, minimize and piously gloss over material that we
honestly know in our hearts is macabre and revolting, the best case scenario is
that we will succeed at finding a slightly less revolting deity in these
portraits than we initially found. This is what standard evangelical apologetic
approaches accomplish, on a good day. It is in essence the approach I adopted
five years ago when I began this present project. But I came to see that even
the very best of these approaches are of no value when it comes to disclosing
how this material bears witness to the self-sacrificial, enemy-loving,
non-violent love of God on Calvary. And to make matters worse, all the while we
are tidying up our macabre depictions of God, we are bearing some
responsibility for the way this material continues to serve as a precedent for
people to appeal to in order to justify their hatred and violence, as it has
served throughout history.”

[I cannot WAIT to get
my hands on this book!]

Most Frustrating:

Samantha at Love, Joy Feminism highlights the multiple facepalm moments
in Mary Kassian and Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ interview at Focus on the
Family, including the accusation that egalitarian women are selfish, worldly women who despise children.

Most Stunning:

Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2012 Finalists

Most Encouraging:

Sarah Kelm with “Eshet Chayil, or Getting Over My Arch-Nemesis”

“So don’t
be surprised if I call you out, if I proclaim “woman of valor!” to you
when you send me the spreadsheet I was looking for, or you share of a hard
conversation you had with your mother, or you run a 5K, or you tell me you and
your husband are going to try to have a baby. These are all things to be
celebrated, big and small. These are all things which deserve a hearty eshet
chayil. Instead of seeing fellow women as my rivals, as those who are
good in ways that I cannot be and who will steal the limited amounts of joy
this world contains, I want to see them as fellow women of valor,
women who inspire me and boost my own strength. I want to see them as women who
make me more brave by their own brave deeds.”

Most Helpful:
Joy Bennett at Alise Write’s place with “Sibling Rivalry” 

“…We get so passionate about faith (or our
approach to the big questions, even if we don’t define it as faith per se)
because it’s such an integral part of who we are, how we think, and how we view
and interact with the world. I think we get so upset with our families over
faith disagreements because our families are so important to us. We want to
share this incredibly important thing to us with the people we love the most.
We want to be loved and accepted for who we are. When we disagree about those
things that are so much a part of who we are, when someone rejects our ideas,
it often feels like they also reject us.”

Most Eye-Opening:

Ethan Bronner at The New York Times with “Right to Lawyer Can Be Empty Promise
for Poor”

“Billy Jerome Presley spent 17 months in a Georgia jail
because he did not have $2,700 for a child support payment. He had no prior
jail record but also no lawyer. In Baltimore last fall, Carl Hymes, 21, was
arrested on charges of shining a laser into the eyes of a police officer. Bail
was set at $75,000. He had no arrest record but also no lawyer. In West Orange,
N.J., last summer, Walter Bloss, 89, was served with an eviction notice from
the rent-controlled apartment he had lived in for 43 years after a dispute with
his landlord. He had gone to court without a lawyer…”

Most Quotable:

Fred Clark with “It’s Not Your Stance, But Who You’re Standing With”

“Jesus did not say, ‘take this stance,’
but rather ‘Follow me.’ We’re supposed to be moving, not striking a pose."

Most Likely to Make You See it From a Different Angle:
Dan Pallotta via TED with “The way we think about charity is
dead wrong”

“People are weary of being asked to do the least they can possibly do…”

Most Likely to Relate to Previous  Conversations:

The Atlantic with “Old Earth, Young Minds: Evangelical Homeschoolers Embrace
Evolution”

“Take Erinn Cameron Warton, an evangelical
Christian who homeschools her children. Warton, a scientist, says she was
horrified when she opened a homeschool science textbook and found a picture of
Adam and Eve putting a saddle on a dinosaur. "I nearly choked," says
the mother of three. "When researching homeschooling curricula, I found
that the majority of Christian homeschool textbooks are written from this
ridiculous perspective. Once I saw this, I vowed never to use them."
Instead, Warton has pulled together a curriculum inspired partly by homeschool
pioneer Susan Wise Bauer and partly by the Waldorf holistic educational
movement.”

[I know many of you have expressed
concern over a lack of faith-based curriculum that presents theistic evolution
as an option. I actually have several friends who have received grants from
BioLogos to work on science-friendly homeschool curriculum.]

Best Image:

“A photo that defines a generation”

Best Interview:

Naomi Klein at
Common Dreams with “Dancing the World Into Being: A Conversation with Idle No
More’s Leanne Simpson”

“The
alternative is deep reciprocity. It’s respect, it’s relationship, it’s responsibility,
and it’s local. If you’re forced to stay in your 50-mile radius, then you very
much are going to experience the impacts of extractivist behavior. The only way
you can shield yourself from that is when you get your food from around the
world or from someplace else. So the more distance and the more globalization
then the more shielded I am from the negative impacts of extractivist
behavior.”

Best Reflection:

NPR with “In St. Peter’s Square, History Unraveled Slowly”

Best Insight:

Zach Hoag with “SGM and
the Counseling Cliff”

“I have personal experience with this style of counseling at a
church I served in 7 years ago. It was one of the primary reasons my wife and I
finally decided to move on. One of the mainstays of this style is an antagonism
toward “secular” counseling or “modern” psychology, leading church movements
like SGM and Mars Hill Church in Seattle, for instance, to require members to
only receive counseling from their pastors. And, sometimes, to seek that
counsel from elders even in place of alerting the
police.”

Best Analysis:

T.F. Charlton at Religion Dispatches with “A Church Group, A Lawsuit, and a
Culture of Abuse”

“It’s no accident that so many allegations of serious abuse
have arisen across SGM’s churches. The combination of patriarchal gender roles,
purity culture, and authoritarian clergy that characterizes Sovereign Grace’s
teachings on parenting, marriage, and sexuality creates an environment where
women and children—especially girls—are uniquely vulnerable to abuse.”

Best Question:
Carrie McKean at Love Is What You Do with “The Rabbit and
the Apple”

“And then the clencher… though she couldn’t read
the English text, she perceived the tone from the pictures and she said,
‘People don’t buy my products because they want to help me; they buy my
products because I’m a talented seamstress.’ It seems that in my very attempts
to empower her and give her dignity, I’ve unwillingly taken it away. I still
don’t know how to resolve this… Telling her story is an intrinsic part of
selling her products, but how do I tell her story without making you feel pity?
How do I tell her story in a way that would make her proud to read it? How do I
emphasize our commonality instead of our differences?”

Best Challenge:
Ed Cyzewski with “It’s biblically impossible to be
biblical”

“While “biblical” could technically mean ‘influenced by the
Bible,’ it has become a code word for ‘possessing the one and only way to
interpret the Bible on a particular issue.’ In our zeal to follow the teachings
of scripture, we have sought a definitive, once and for all time way to read a
book that has always been a work in progress. In one sense, we all want to be
guided and informed by the Bible. However, the pursuit of being biblical more
often turns into: ‘I know God’s definitive and authoritative perspective, you better
agree with me, or you’re going to be unbiblical.’ If I don’t agree with the
‘biblical’ perspective being presented, then I’ve rejected God’s truth. The
possibility of ambiguity is lost, even if that ambiguity is all over the
Bible.”

and

Micah J. Murray with “Beware of Thinking Biblically”

“This is what’s so radical about Jesus. He is “the Word made flesh“. Jesus IS the Scripture – alive
with blood and skin and breath and tears. And when we see him for the first
time, we realize that we’ve been reading the Holy Words wrong all along. We
MUST allow all of our reading of the Bible to begin and end with the words and
life of Jesus. Otherwise we will most certainly get it wrong and miss the point
completely.”

Best Synchroblog:

Sarah Bessey hosts “Patron Saints and Spiritual Midwives: International Women’s
Day Synchroblog”

Most Surprising:

Steve Holmes with “Why I Can No Longer Defend the Ministry of Women in the
Church”

“Take
Phoebe Palmer. She began to be involved in leading a Bible study in New York
around 1830. She soon received invitations to preach across the USA and in the
UK. Something like 25 000 people were converted by her ministry. 25 000
people. Converted. Does that need defence? Really? She visited prisons
regularly, ran a society helping poor people in need of medical attention, and
was involved in an ambitious project to challenge the new problem of urban
poverty through the provision of low-cost housing, free schooling, and employment.
She had a particular concern for orphans throughout her life. Challenging
injustice on a grand scale. Do you want me to defend that?"

Most Hope-filled:
Liuan
Huska at Her.Meneutics with “It Takes a Church to Raise a Child”

“At our Spanish-speaking immigrant church, people don't have the
luxury to think too hard about what it costs to raise their kids. Most have
children (it probably never occurred to them not to) and keep busy making ends
meet. The kids in my church don't have Baby Mozart albums, parents who attend
every school function, or a neighborhood in a top school district. Yet, they
seem to be doing just as well as kids who have it all. Why? Because their moms and dads love them exorbitantly, and
everyone in the church parents them as well. My church, though not perfect,
does better job than most of living up to the proverb, "It takes a village
to raise a child." An older empty-nest couple, for example, used to take
care of a younger couple's two daughters. The pastor's wife goes out of her way
to pick up children for Sunday school when their parents can't come. We treat
each other like family, and we treat all the children in the church as our
own.”

Most Likely to Make You Cry:
Dianna Anderson with “Carrying the Banner”

“This is the church I know. The church that
preaches justice for the marginalized. The church that does not let anyone fall
behind. The church that pushes us to be better people but that understands the
enormity of the takes before us. This is the image of God that carries me
through the rough patches and the hard times – the Trinitarian God of love
who is community in Themselves, the God in whose image we are
made. We, the church, are the Imago Dei. We, the people, are his banner
carriers. And when one of us falls, someone else will carry the banner while
others help the fallen.”

Most Likely to Make You Dance (nominated
by Jennie Marshall) 

“Dancing Nana”

Most Likely to Make You Hungry (nominated by Gregory Jeffers) 
Michael Ruhlman with “Cook Your Own Food. Eat
What You Want. (Think for Yourself)”

And by the way, Dan of Team Dan & Rachel is now blogging
at DanielJonce.com!

On my Nightstand…

[And by “on my nightstand,” I mean “on my Kindle so I
wouldn’t go crazy on my total of 7 FLIGHTS this week”]

The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western
Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah - This book has been profoundly
challenging and convicting for me. I read it just a week before my presentation
at George Fox Seminary on the future of evangelicalism, and it dramatically
changed my angle! We will definitely be discussing this one in the future, and
I’m hoping to rope Professor Rah into a guest post or two.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – “I know. I’ll just read to the
halfway point and then go to bed like I said I would two hours ago…just to the
halfway point and then, WHA!!!!!! O MY GOSH!!! JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER.” (Note: This book would have an R-rating if it was a movie, so I'm not, like, recommending it for your church group or anything.)

On the Blog...​

Most Popular Post:

“Ashamed”

Most Popular Comments:

In response to “Ashamed,” Nicole Cottrell wrote:

“Not
that it matters much, but this is my favorite thing you've ever written. Because at the end of the day, this is it. You and I could sit
across from one another with all of our (perceived) theological differences and
it wouldn't matter... Because of this and what you shared here. Because you
echo my very own heart with these words. Because Jesus binds us, our love for
Him and our hope for the rest.” 

And in response to "The Bible: It's Just Not That Into You," Eric wrote...er, sang:

Altogether now:
"You're so vain,
You prob'ly think the Bible's about you,
You're so vaaaaain,
I bet you think the Bible's about you,
Don't you? Don't you?"

And don’t forget! Next week we’ll be hosting “Into the Light: A
Series on Abuse and The Church”

IRL…

I had a wonderful time on my West Coast Tour…even after a very
long overnight flight home. It was such a joy to meet so many of you in person!
There were hugs, tears, lots of laughs, food (so.much.food), long talks, quick
hellos, sad goodbyes. I am so grateful for each story, each question, each new
insight, each gift.

I started at Hope International University in Fullerton, which
felt a bit like a homecoming as it was one of the first schools I visited when
I began speaking, and one of the most welcoming and hospital communities you
will meet. In Fullerton, I had the chance to grab lunch with fellow bloggers (and
friends) Elizabeth Esther and Kristen Howerton. We basically solved all of the
world’s problems in the span of two hours…(can’t explain the reasons here).
Also, it hailed. In Southern California.

Next it was on to Azusa Pacific where I was welcomed like a
sister by women like Ariel Price and Kate Wallace. (Kate and her mom, Gail Vaughn Wallace, maintain the very
awesome Junia Project board on Pinterest, one of my favorites). I also met an
amazing woman of valor named Leslie Wickman, who is also basically a rocket
scientist. The event that evening was one of my favorites, with lots of
thoughtful, fun questions from the audience about my year of biblical
womanhood.

I spent my Saturday running around LA
with my dear friends Adam and Rachel Crownoble and their three girls. We
visited the Getty Museum on a beautiful, breezy California day and I ALMOST
understood why people like them would move there….even though it’s too far away
from me.  (Miss them so much!)

Then it was on to Portland, where I
couldn’t help but think of the Portlandia song, “The Dream of the 1890s is
Alive in Portland,” when my gracious host Andy Campell, (who homebrews his own
beer, of course) presented me with AMAZING homemade bread from his wife April and began
talking about his friends who make their own soap and, you know, pickle things.
(“We can pickle that!”)  While in
Portland, I had the honor to attend the public memorial for Richard Twiss,
which was a moving and challenging experience that I will be mulling over for
months to come, and I also got the chance to hang out with the delightful Emily
Maynard.

Next it was on to George Fox Seminary
in Portland, where Roger Olson and I discussed the future of evangelicalism
with a very smart, very receptive group of students, faculty, church leaders,
and locals. (I really enjoyed Roger’s presentation – learned more about my
evangelical heritage in 20 minutes than I have in 20 years!)

​Photo by Andy Campbell

At the seminary, my
friend Bob Henry presented me with a gorgeous painting inspired by Chapter 10
of Evolving in Monkey Town. I love it when artists and musicians bring their
creativity to my writing; makes the whole process so much more collaborative.

My final stop was in Newberg, where the
students of George Fox University totally blew my mind with their intelligence,
thoughtfulness, and hospitality. Seriously. At lunch, a group of students were
asked about their thoughts on the future of Christianity and several mentioned
the importance of looking to the global South and East since the center of
Christianity seems to be shifting in that direction. Smart! I also connected with the small, but growing and gracious LGBT group on
campus.

In Newberg, I also had the privilege of
connecting with Beth Woolsey, whose life epitomizes real
hospitality. She literally built her house around a giant table! Also, she
still had her Christmas decorations up. “You can’t wait until everything is
perfect to invite people into your life,” she said. Amen.

This is just a brief overview. I met
and connected with so many more amazing people on this trip—you know who you
are! There are just too many memorable meals and conversations to include. I don’t
know if I have ever felt more humbled and grateful to get to do this work, this
work that has intersected my life with yours, if only for a brief time. I
prayed prayers of gratitude all the way home.

***

So, what caught your eye online this week? What’s happening on your blog?

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