Outside the Pigeon Holes

I love the discussion and analysis here , in a brilliant post on Brian Mclaren's website , of the varying definitions of churchy words that get thrown around in inter-denominational discussions...I believe wholly that there is sin, that God has wrath and there is judgment, but what that loo ks like to me (through much of my own journey through the Spirit's teaching and God's 'refining fires') may differ greatly from that of my fellows. I believe that God's wrath is much more restorative than it is punitive and that sin has much more to do with 'love-breaking' than law-breaking....I believe Jesus teaches a way of living that is much more challenging to walk than the simplified 'black and white' thinking I was raised with. Yes, there is a time and a place for that, but I have come to understand that it isn't nearly as often as I once thought. #lethispeoplethink . 

A heartfelt reply to an 'absolute truth' teller who takes on the divorce issue (under the guise of it being just about 'people who have divorce parties'). This one is for all those who are in or have left terrible, destructive marriages but still feel the scorn from the 'perfect plan' people. Here's the link to the post Here is my reply. As bothered as you were with the guy in the grocery store, I grow weary of the judgment from the 'I'm staying married forever no matter what!!' screamers who seem to think they have it all figured out on how they will keep it together... "I just have to CHOOOOSSE to stay'....Good luck with that when you wake up to find that your spouse didn't change, but was never the person you thought they were in the first place. Divorce is never easy....EVER. It sucks. As happy as I was it was over I still cried the day the gavel came down in the courtroom. I wanted to grab my ex by the shoulders and say ...

Despite all the other issues that the Church could be going after with as much venom and fervor,  so often the nastiest attitudes and panicked (sometimes hate-tinged) actions seem to center around homosexuality (a close second maybe to the creation vs. evolution debate). It isn't that I think it is bad to discuss this matter through our lenses of faith, I know that most people have the best of intentions in this debate. But seriously, the energy, fear (which is not of God, btw) and resources put into this topic I think are largely disproportionate to its importance. If one of the devil's schemes is to get God's people to pour their energies into demolishing a molehill while he dances off to add more casualties to his hideous mountain of child sex trafficking, environmental destruction, murder and torture, then I think he has succeeded. This victory of his is often at the expense of people who want to follow Jesus but know that in most churches they would be objects ...