Sometimes I’m hesitant to post my wedding anniversary celebrations on social media, fearing I may be sending the unintentional message of “See? We did it right. You should be like us.” Living in the evangelical world. you learn quickly there’s a focus on “traditional family” roles. It’s also called “living out God’s ideal,” “God’s plan,” or – my favorite – having a “Biblical marriage.” In other words, evangelicals believe there is a preordained designed ideal of marriage and family. I was taught the dangers of single parenting, stay at home dads, divorce, and of course, same-sex marriage. If y ..read more

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Religion News Service on December 20, 2023. ATLANTA (RNS) — Twenty minutes outside downtown Atlanta, Vinings Lake sits along a humming thoroughfare connecting Veterans Memorial Highway to the affluent suburbs north of the city. With its white steeple and brick exterior, it could easily be mistaken for another Southern Baptist church adorning America’s Bible Belt. But façade aside, the community no longer thinks of itself strictly as a church. “We’re an ever-evolving spiritual collective,” the pastor, Cody Deese, said to those gathered in the dimly ..read more

Twenty-six years ago today on September 19, 1997, this world lost a musical treasure when Rich Mullins was killed in a tragic accident en route to a benefit concert. He was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his worship song “Awesome God” and for his band, A Ragamuffin Band. In this special tribute to Rich Mullins recorded on October 22, 2022, the day after what would have been his 67th birthday, Shane visits with Rich’s brother Dave, his bandmate Mitch McVicker, and other friends.   ..read more

Last Easter Sunday we had to hold our service in the park. I remember listening to the sermon with my bare hands sinking into the grass whist birds chirped overhead. I had felt grace before, but never so freely integrated in nature. As I listened to our pastor, I thought about Giovani Bellini’s masterpiece, St. Francis In Ecstasy. The fifteenth-century oil painting depicts a moment of natural serenity, much like my own experience in the grass. Bellini presents Francis as so overcome by the Lord that the patron saint of ecology kicks off his sandals to lean further into his own. The azure of th ..read more

I miss going to church. That might come as a surprise to those who have followed my 3-year journey out of church in general and pastoral ministry in particular. Perhaps some will smirk and harumph, I knew it, confident both in their righteous place within an organized congregation and in my assured misery outside “the will of God.” I have heard all kinds of reactions when people learn my once-full-time-pastoring family no longer attends church, from the “don’t neglect the meeting together of the saints” chastisement, to the “I’ve been hurt too” simultaneous justification and dismissal of my co ..read more

On the first weekend in June, my partner and I served communion at our friendly LGBTQIA+ church and my heart touched the marvelous love of God in our beloved community. As a queer Christian, I took great joy in serving alongside my husband, he breaking the bread while I held the cup of salvation for anyone to receive this life-changing meal: tall drag queens and kindhearted lesbians, smiling trans folx and earnest allies, bashful children and beautiful gender non-binary friends, and dearly beloveds all across the beautiful queer spectrum, all welcomed into the loving arms of God, including my ..read more

The hit show Ted Lasso recently concluded its third and final season on Apple TV+. I think the most valuable of the ambitious comedy’s accomplishments may be its image of non-toxic masculinity, lived out in community by the players, coaches, fans, and staff of the fictional soccer club AFC Richmond. A show that confronts toxic masculinity must inevitably also address homophobia, for each is the other’s evil cousin. Both are tools of patriarchy, called upon because a system that intends to keep one gender identity in power over others is built upon the theory of gender essentialism. This theory ..read more

Shame is a common experience of marginalized people. Not surprisingly. It does a number on you when others look askance at what makes you different and pull away as a result. As a gay woman, I have struggled to overcome shame. No doubt, some say I should feel shame for my sexuality, and the fact that I do so must be a sure sign of guilt. Isn’t that why we say, “Shame on you!” Those words are designed to lower our heads, to convince us we have done something terribly wrong. But shame afflicts even the innocent.  Many sexual abuse survivors feel shame. In seminary, one of my professors rela ..read more

Recently Uganda has passed legislation known as “The Anti-Homosexuality Act,”  that penalizes same sex relationships.   It was already a crime to be gay in Uganda, but this new law extends excessive punishment to include life in prison and the possibility of the death penalty in some cases. Some US leaders have chimed in to support these laws.  Clearly, Red Letter Christians stands firmly and passionately against these laws in Uganda or any other place in the world.  We are also deeply encouraged by the statement made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who ..read more

It’s LGBTQ+ Pride Month, so it’s time for Christians to turn off social media, ignore the news stories, and further entrench themselves in the beliefs they’ve been told. Or maybe this year can be different. We could take this month to consider for the first time that perhaps we’ve been mistaken.  Instead of focusing on corporations, boycotts, and culture wars, we can focus on the people this touches. Instead of focusing on a few disputable verses in the Bible, consider the themes of scriptures highlighted by Jesus; by Paul; by John. Themes of obedience to the greatest commandment. Themes ..read more