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On Broken Bodies: Christ’s and Ours

I came across this thought-provoking video featuring Claire Wimbush, an Episcopal priest who was born with spastic cerebral palsy, as I was perusing the Clergy Health Initiative. This is a gorgeous must-watch. “And when we set up for ourselves ideals that are the wrong ideals — that we simply can’t reach — if we can’t […]

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A Verse for Mother’s Day

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Mayday! Mayday! For Everyone Mired in the Muck of Spring.

It’s spring, and like the land, many people I love are in a time of transition. There must be something in the air. Some romanticize spring, but up where I live, spring is pretty much the worst time of year. Yes, it is nice that the thermometers creep above 32. But spring in the Northland is […]

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A New Direction, A New Look, and the ECC’s 40 Under 40

Between pastoring, going to seminary, family commitments, and various writing projects, this poor blog has been pretty neglected. I’m redesigning the site to make it easier to keep up with. I’ll be posting shorter, encouraging snippets on the blog, along with links to longer articles and sermons I’ve been working on for other places. What […]

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Biblical Womanhood, or Cultural Womanhood?

Woohoo! This article placed in the Evangelical Press Association’s Higher Goals awards.

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Transitions and Coming Out of My Turtle Shell

Sometimes there’s so much going on that I just don’t know what to say. That’s how these last several months have been for me. My heart, my mind, my life has been spinning so fast that my fingers couldn’t keep up. I had to pull my focus in tight, to myself and the people immediately […]

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Six Ways to Empower Women for Ministry

Today’s guest post comes via the ECC Commission on Biblical Gender Equality. Corrie Gustafson is an ordained minister currently serving as an interim chaplain at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the Pacific Southwest Conference Liaison for Advocates for Covenant Clergy Women (ACCW) and a Regional Coordinator for Advocacy for Victims of Abuse (AVA). […]

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If Only: Regret and the Real Nature of Church Growth

Got regret? Today’s guest post is from my wise friend Michelle Van Loon, whose new book, If Only, focuses on the taboo topic of regret, and how in Jesus “past regrets can be transformed into present wisdom and a flourishing, free future.” Seriously. You are going to want a copy of this book.  My friend […]

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Jesus, the Canaanite Woman, and Caring for Marginalized People

Today’s guest post is from Dominique DuBois Gilliard, a graduate of North Park Theological Seminary where he also served as an adjunct professor, and comes via the ECC’s Commission on Gender Equality’s blog. How does one best care for marginalized people, those who have been isolated from community, stigmatized by society, and even neglected or […]

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Long Hair and Head Coverings and Hierarchy, Oh My! 1 Cor. 11 in the Women in Ministry Sermon Series

1 Corinthians 11 may be one of the most confusing passages in the New Testament. What’s all this “headship” stuff about (and how can God be the head of Christ, if Christ IS God)? Do men represent “the glory of God” better than women? What’s all this talk about long hair, short hair, shaved heads, […]

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Who is Standing Up for Women? An Exercise in Looking for the Helpers.

Last night was one of those nights when it feels hard to breathe; when you want to rage and cry and fight and scream and sob. Nothing was wrong in my little circle, but make no mistake, things were, and are, very, very wrong. For the past week my newsfeeds have been lit up with […]

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In Remembrance of Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86, and this world has lost a beautiful, courageous soul. But not forever. Here she is in her own words: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Thanks […]

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#YesAllWomen. The girl who cried wolf, and other myths.

The #YesAllWomen hashtag, where women share their stories about the everyday harassment they endure and worse, is trending on Twitter. You should absolutely check it out. This is a repost from 2011, minus the first paragraph referencing an old news event. Sexual harassment is very, very real, and Christians need to find ways to deal […]

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Mutual Submission in Marriage: The Women In Ministry Sermon Series

Last week’s Women in Ministry series tackled Ephesians 5, and the common misconceptions it has led to. What does it mean for a husband to be the “head” of his wife? Is submission only required of the wife, or of the husband as well? What does this have to do with Christ and the church, […]

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Calvinism, Control Freaks, and the Sovereignty of God

The internet has been obsessed with Calvinism for the past week or so. Zack Hunt’s Dear John letter to Calvin, Jonathan Merritt’s article about the troubling trends in America’s Calvinist revival, the Sovereign Grace Ministries scandal and The Gospel Coalition’s shifting blog roll. I don’t typically blog about denominational or doctrinal differences, but I’ve been pondering the […]

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