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Pastors and accountability is an uncomfortable mix for some Christians. I’ve seen people (myself included) told, “Be careful,” “Don’t be so willing to throw the first stone,” or “It’s a slippery slope,” when they address a harmful Christian teaching. It’s almost as if some Christians don’t believe church leaders are normal human beings who make…
“How do you FEEL referring to God as “She”? I recently asked on Facebook. The prompt was an original posting by Uwem Ward of All Made Well Recovery and when resharing, I emphasized we were bringing curious awareness to our FEELINGS. The comment section exploded. One part responded to the prompt with gentle curiosity and…
I spent nearly 14 years in a missionary church in Kenya (where I was born and raised.) The church was led (and still is) by an American missionary couple. When I first joined, the pastor joked about how some ex-members said the church was a cult. If I knew what I know now, I’d have…
Sometimes in evangelical churches, people are a means to an end. Pastors approach pastoring from a numbers or “growth” perspective. Instead of a shepherd-who-CARES-and-NURTURES-people mindset. I spent years in a high-demand, high-control church in Kenya (where I’m from), a church plant by an American missionary couple. One thing that was always in short supply in…
The elevation delivered stunning views, with the 5 PM sunlight filtering through the trees, air tinted gold, evidence of earth picking itself from the ground, becoming one with the air. My kinfolk and I were whipping through the newest highway in the city, the only one perched high above, winding itself past Kenya’s capital city,…
Does God require our suffering? High-control, works-based Christianity says our faith is not legitimate if it’s not accompanied by struggle or drudgery. Expressions like “the price of the anointing” “salvation is free, but the anointing is not”1 might not be familiar to all Christians, but those with evangelical/fundamentalist/conservative roots are super familiar. The “God requires suffering to bring…