Real peace is more than the absence of war. Rather, we need to change the culture, situations, and systems that lead to violence. —American Friends Service Committee Five years ago I’m sitting behind the bar of a House of Representatives committee room, Washington, D.C. It’s a mark up day, when the committee meets to comment […]
Reader Review #03 – Bonus Edition
Posts tagged “Reader Review” include a few top articles from my weekly reading. Their topics may vary, but their quality and provocation quotient won’t. Enjoy. I missed posting a Reader Review last week, so you’re getting a few extras this week. Are “success cultures” kryptonite to creatives? What happens to cities when their artists leave? […]
Inspired Possibility: Opening the Gift of the Queer Soul
Part of the 2013 Queer Theology Synchroblog | Thanks, @shannontlkearns, for the invite. The earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. – Genesis 1:2 Imagine with me the void before “Let there be light”—the empty […]
Round-up: Responses to Exodus Closure
And away he goes, precious. Gone! Gone! Gone! Smeagol is free!” Several organizations have responded to last week’s announcement that Florida-based ex-gay/sexual orientation change ministry Exodus International will close. The National Religious Leadership Roundtable includes representatives of Christian affinity and interest groups including the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, the Unity Fellowship Church, the Metropolitan Community […]
The Exodus of Exodus International
Earlier this month, I wrote about the Seventh-day Adventist church’s early history with the sexual orientation change effort industry (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Quest Learning Center and Homosexuals Anonymous both formed during the same era as Exodus International, a sprawling evangelical organization that taught LGBT people, their families, and their churches that “change […]
Speaking as Myself
My friend Teagan hosted a really powerful conversation this weekend about what it means to be an ally to a community and how to speak with its members rather than for or in place of them. [1] I come into the ally/narrative conversation shaped not just by my direct experiences but also by the body of narratives that […]