If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1 Twenty years ago a book called The Five Love Languages made its debut, and it has since revolutionized the way married couples think about communication. You’ve probably heard of it, but in case you haven’t …
Why My Love Story Never Gets Old
Not everyone knows this about me and Ike, but we met in a bar. At the time, I was working as a college minister and Ike was a seminarian. We were both there for a charity date auction, and Ike was being auctioned off. And no I did not bid on him. 🙂 After meeting that night, Ike spent the …
Fair and Balanced
At the end of last week I noticed a tweet that had been posted by Ed Stetzer as he labored over a blog post for the following day: “Working on a difficult blogpost for tmrw. Trying to speak truth & grace at the same time is not easy. I’m not sure I have it right yet.” I love God’s timing, …
A Good Word from N.T. Wright
This weekend I am getting spoiled. I am currently in San Francisco attending the Society of Biblical Literature Conference, where religious scholars from all over the world come and share their latest research and insights. After only a day of sessions my brain is already over-loaded with nuggets of theological goodness, so today I’m going to share a simple but …
Missional Tunnel Vision
This month I’ve been wrapping up my summer schoolwork with an independent study of feminist theology, and I have really loved it! My research has been educational, thought-provoking, and personally challenging, which is exactly what I was hoping it would be. As I have explored the history of feminism and its relationship to Christian theology, I’ve noticed a significant historical …
The Art of Persuasion
Here’s a fun question to ask yourself: If you could sit down and have a conversation with the person you were 10 years ago, what would you say to your younger self? On what topics would you agree, and on what would you disagree? As I think about the ways in which I’ve grown in the last 10 years, I …
Your Body Matters
“Who you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” Those are the words of Mayor Cory Booker, who I discussed in my last post as part of my reflections on the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Today I’m going to conclude those reflections by highlighting the life and message of another speaker, but Mayor Booker’s words were …
Out of the Heart
Continuing my reflections on the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, I’m going to do something today that I almost never do: talk about a politician. I am rather jaded when it comes to politics, and I NEVER endorse candidates publicly. Not to sound overly simplistic or self-righteous, but I would much rather spend my time endorsing Jesus. However, one of …
Christmas and Atheism
This week I happened upon a news story about the above billboard–posted in New Jersey by the atheist advocacy group American Atheists–and the subsequent backlash that ensued. As you look at this billboard (you can click on it for a larger view), I want you to pause for a moment and reflect on your feelings about it. What kind of a …
Why Christian Evangelism Sometimes Falls Short
In the last month I’ve written a couple posts incorporating my doctoral studies with the practical, every-day-life concerns of being a Christian woman. I was kind of nervous about those posts because I thought you all might get as far as the first paragraph and then say “YAWN”….click. Never to return again. Fortunately, my readers are amazing and y’all were …