February 2012
3 posts
“There is this myth of the conservative Christian. There is no monolithic...”
– My friend Marty, with some interesting food for thought about the dangers of letting our theological passion turn into tyranny.
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What every woman wants. Or not.
Today I received an email from a well-known Christian organization, promoting a new book about biblical (“kingdom”) manhood. In this book, the email tells me, “men will be empowered to exercise the God-given leadership they were created for by giving them a kingdom understanding, vision and perspective on their identity. It also covers a biblical worldview of a man’s...
From Internet Monk: "Why Gays, Republicans, and... →
An interesting take. I think it glosses over a few important questions, but I love the grace here, and I wish we as a Body of Christ had more of a reputation for this kind of grace!
What do you think?
January 2012
1 post
If you know any web developers...
The last couple of weeks have been a rough time for me, and I’d like to write about that, but I’m not quite ready. In the meantime, I’ve also been making final edits to the manuscript for my upcoming book, Torn, so I haven’t had a lot of time for blogging. Don’t worry, though; the edits will be done shortly and then I’ll be back to blogging as usual!
In the...
December 2011
7 posts
“The trouble with quotes on the internet is that people pass them around without...”
– -Abraham Lincoln (I’ve seen multiple versions of this one floating around the internet for several months now, so like any good netizen, I tweaked it to make it my own before making it Lincoln’s again.)
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The made-up war.
Okay, let’s get this straight, once and for all.
Christians are always going to be at odds with “the world” in certain ways. The Bible calls us to humility, sacrifice, and generosity, and there will always be people who will take advantage of that. There will always be forms of persecution and ridicule aimed at us, and we need to be prepared for it.
But, my fellow Christians,...
danafachner asked: Hi Justin. I'm new to your blog, but I read through some of the more recent stuff you've posted. It's refreshing how open you are to discussion with people who have convictions across the board. Theologically, our interpretations of scripture don't line up 100%, but I love how respectfully and clearly you share your perspective. Can't wait to read more! :)
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On Tuesday…
…I’m going to be a guest speaker at an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship group on Grove City College campus.
I’m kinda freaking out. In a good way.
Grove City College is a conservative Christian institution. Their LGBT student group, Rainbow Bridge, has been denied official recognition and is not allowed to even put up fliers advertising off-campus get-togethers. The Princeton Review...
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November 2011
9 posts
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5 secrets I didn't know about the publishing...
My first book is coming out next year, and I’m very excited. But when I started writing this thing, I had absolutely no idea what the publishing industry was like, or what to expect when trying to get my book published. To me, it felt like this was a world full of secrets.
Okay, to be honest, these aren’t really “secrets” in the usual sense. To anyone who works in...
1 tag
Two roads diverged in a wood. Of... publishers. Or...
Last time, I shared some very emotional stuff, so today I’m going to switch gears.
A lot of my friends have been asking for more details about the publishing process for my book, so I thought I’d write a bit about the things I’m learning about the wonderful world of publishing. And boy, is it “wonderful.” Kind of like the Wizard of Oz was wonderful. (Pay no attention...
Dealing with death as Christians.
This week, a very close friend of mine passed away.
His name was Brian. For the better part of seven years, he co-hosted a podcast with me called GCN Radio. (You can listen to our old episodes online if you want.) He was a gentle soul and a committed Christian.
Brian had dealt with serious health problems his entire life, but his death was unexpected, and it left his friends and family shocked...
effervescentreflections asked: In your last post you mentioned Leviticus, and 1st Corinthians, but what about Romans or Genesis for example? I'm curious to understand your position. For context, I've been doing an exhaustive study on human sexuality in the secular sense, while supplementing it with exegetical study from the Bible.
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"But I believe sexual immorality is wrong!" "Um......
As the executive director of The Gay Christian Network, I get to talk to a lot of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Christians every day. I get to hear about their faith, their joys, and also their biggest frustrations.
Today, I’d like to talk about one of the most common frustrations I hear from them over and over again.
When someone comes out to their friends or family as...
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Heads, I win; tails, you lose: 5 spiritual...
Remember the other day, when I wrote about Trendianity, Christianity’s copycat cousin? One way you can distinguish the two is when a disagreement arises.
Genuine, gospel-focused Christianity should lead us to be gracious in disagreement (Romans 14). In some situations, that means agreeing to disagree, while in others, we may be called to take a firm stand on something. When we do take a...
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Finding the balance.
Handling disagreements can be tricky.
You know what’s trickier? When the two sides don’t even agree about whether it matters.
For instance, this weekend, I read an article about Christian views of Halloween. The article pointed out that many Christians don’t celebrate Halloween, viewing it as something linked to Satan and the occult. (The church I grew up in had a “Fall...
October 2011
10 posts
1 tag
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Justin makes a BIG announcement!
Oh. My. Goodness.
You guys don’t know how long I’ve been having to hold this big announcement in and how badly I’ve been wanting to spill the beans. A couple of months ago, I thought I was about to be able to announce it, and then things got put on hold again while we ironed out contract details.
But now that there’s a signed contract, I’ve been officially allowed...
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Are Christians not interested in dialogue?
An interesting pattern has been emerging lately in the college events I’ve been overseeing.
Conservative Christians aren’t showing up.
At each campus, I’ve been giving one presentation just for the campus LGBT community and their friends, but the day before that, each campus hosts a “dialogue” event, designed to bring people on both sides of the issue together to...
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Nuance ≠ relativism.
I was just quoted in the Christian Post for an article about the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s ordination of their first openly gay minister since changing their policy to allow partnered gay clergy.
I was pleased to see that the CP got my point about the importance of nuance and listening to both sides on this issue (even if they did inexplicably change the word “nuance” to...
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Trendianity.
I’m a Christian, and proud to be one. I believe the gospel is the most powerful, life-changing message there is.
But sometimes I don’t want to admit to people that I’m a Christian.
Am I ashamed of the gospel? Ashamed of Jesus? Not at all. I just don’t want to be associated with some of the terrible attitudes and behaviors that pass for Christianity in our culture....
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John Smid: "Where is the repentance?" →
Check out this blog post from John Smid about gays and repentance. He’s got some really interesting thoughts!
For those of you who don’t know who John Smid is, he was, until recently, the director of Love in Action, one of the most (in)famous so-called ex-gay programs out there. In other words, this is a guy who spent his career saying that yes, gay people can and should become...
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Some disagreements are too important to debate.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been traveling to different colleges to talk to students and begin campus conversations about homosexuality and Christianity. At each stop, we bring together a roomful of students who disagree with each other and then try to have a respectful conversation with each other.
The experiences have been fascinating, and many of the things I’m learning in these...
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sarassoapsnsuch asked: Justin, your blog title has been eating at me ever since I discovered you and it, courtesy of Rachel Evans's blog. (Fabulous interview, by the way!) Why just crumbs from the communion table? Are these crumbs you're sharing (though your theological musing are quite like full-course meals)? Or do you feel worthy of no more than crumbs? You're just as worthy as the rest of the...
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“To avoid a man’s society because he is poor or ugly or stupid may be bad;...”
– C.S. Lewis, “After Priggery—What?”
September 2011
13 posts
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A quick update.
I’m on my way back home from Mississippi today, where I just helped coordinate some more campus conversations about Christianity and homosexuality. These went swimmingly! We were able to disagree respectfully, we all learned things, and there was absolutely no shouting on either side. Woohoo!
Meanwhile, I’ve been so excited to see the many awesome comments and questions coming in here...
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Physician, heal thyself.
Yesterday, I posted about a frustrating experience I had where a young woman accused me, in a very confrontational and hurtful way, of not being a Christian. It wasn’t the first time the charge had been leveled at me, but something about that particular interaction really got under my skin, so I decided to write about it. (This is a new blog, so I’m still getting a feel for how much I...
“People do what they know to do—not what you think they should know.”
– Maya Angelou, quoted by CNN
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What. A. Night.
Yesterday was the first day of Transforming the Conversation, a new program I helped design to try to build bridges of understanding between gays and Christians (and, of course, those of us in the middle), specifically in more conservative areas where it’s most needed. The program involves going to 20 universities, mostly in the Bible Belt, in one year. At each university, I’m leading...
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Tell me about you!
Yesterday I wrote a little bit about me, but now I’d like to know a little about those of you who are reading this blog!
So tell me about you: What brought you here? Why are you interested in this blog? What are you hoping I’ll discuss? But tell me, too, about the little things like your hobbies and interests and things that have nothing to do with the subject of this blog.
...
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Dear God, am I allowed to lie and say "insurance...
I always get to have interesting conversations when people ask what I do for a living.
“I’m the executive director of The Gay Christian Network,” I say.
Hilarity ensues.
Well, maybe not hilarity, but something ensues, that’s for sure.
The responses I get are very varied.
Some people want to debate theology with me. “You know homosexuality is a sin, right?”...
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"I love you so much that I need to hit you with...
By far the most frustrating thing about having conversations on controversial issues is when people don’t know when to stop fighting.
It’s like going to play paintball with your friends, and then after the game is over, finding that someone won’t stop shooting.
“Whew! Well that was fun. Okay, let’s get this gear off and go get some coffee. There’s this great...
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A brief reflection on context.
Is that the most boring post title ever, or what? It sounds like a treatise on some obscure subject that you might find in a dusty old book on an untouched shelf in the back of a university library.
One of Stephen Covey’s famous 7 Habits is to “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” I’m a big believer in that. If you and I disagree about something, I’m...
3 tags
Hey, I'm on Rachel Held Evans' blog!
For those of you who don’t know Rachel Held Evans, she’s a Christian author and blogger who has built a reputation for gently and patiently challenging preconceptions—both her own and others’. I got to interview her for a GCN Radio episode that hasn’t hit the podcast feed, but will soon.
Rachel’s been doing a really cool thing on her blog recently: a series of posts...
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“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”
– Proverbs 3:27 (NIV)
In other words, being a Christian isn’t just about avoiding sin, it’s about avoiding complacency. We’re called not just to steer clear of the bad, but to intentionally seek out the opportunities to do good.
If you have ways to help others (and we all do), take...
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Are evangelicals unreachable?
“Evangelical” has become a bad word in American society today, and a lot of people don’t even know what it means! The term refers to Christians who emphasize a personal relationship with Jesus, who believe that eternal salvation comes only through his death and resurrection, and who hold a very “high view” of the Bible as a guide for Christian faith and practice. The...
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“It seems to be a fact that you suffer as much from the Church as for it….”
– Flannery O’Connor, who continued, “…but if you believe in the divinity of Christ, you have to cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it.”
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Why a new blog?
I was tempted to title this post “Why a duck?” but I was afraid most people wouldn’t get the Marx Brothers reference. (If you would have, you get a hundred bonus points. Bonus points can be redeemed for prizes at your local Chuck E. Cheese. Or not.)
Some of the reasons for this new blog will become clearer over the coming weeks, and I’m not going to spoil everything in...