Illusionists! The abusers we have not seen
Some illusionists fool us to amuse us. Abusers and abusive systems fool us to control us. Freedom and life hinge on seeing the illusionists we have not seen.
Treachery and divorce: When God sees betrayal
If you have been betrayed by a spouse: The God who sees you has been there. He hates treachery. He calls out the treacherous - and he defends the betrayed.
The Lord who breaks open the way
“She cannot say that!” the woman yelled. Half a world from my home, she forbade me to invite the churched to repent. Then, we watched the Lord break through.
Celebrity culture in the church
It’s so enticing, and so much a part of the US evangelical church culture. Yet the lure of celebrity can deceive us into agreeing with much that is not God.
The silencing of women and the snorts of God
“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak.” The meaning of that quote from 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is obvious, right? God silences women, and the inspired apostle Paul affirmed it. Or maybe, just maybe: The Lord and Paul both snort at the idea – and we have not known it.
Submit to such as these women
The greetings in Paul’s New Testament letters – the ones translators have altered and we often bypass – affirm women, as well as men, who minister as true servant leaders.
Where have all the women gone?
What has, for centuries, hidden the presence of women alongside men in the New Testament, and especially in Paul’s letters? Where have all the women gone?
To the exiles scattered by toxic church
Maybe the church has become bewildering to you. Leaders you trusted and people you respected are acting in ways that do not reflect who Jesus is, nor what they profess to believe. They have turned on anyone among them who appears to threaten the status quo. What is going on?
Nat Arnett / freeimages.com
Beware the illusion of refuge: Abuse in the church
Leaders in our church systems can create an illusion that refuge for the abused exists, where it does not. How can we recognize when this is happening?
Witchcraft in the church
In the church, those obsessed with manipulating, intimidating and dominating can pose as those serving God. And we can be very fooled for a very long time.