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As we pulled into the driveway of the mega church, I quickly felt the morale and all my mother’s efforts unravel. The (white) youth pastor had painted his face, arms and feet brown. He was wearing a turban and posing “namaste.”
Continue readingI have a number of religious and exvangelical friends who have expressed concern about the way that their church discusses mental illness*. Let’s take this recent tweet posted in August from Desiring God, a highly regarded ministry with international acclaim, as an example: Firstly, this implies that people facing depression aren’t already faithful. Secondly, if these six “quick and easy” steps work in a matter of hours, it’s not depression, it’s a bad day. Thirdly and most importantly: ENCOURAGE PEOPLE FIGHTING…
Continue readingThe issue of male violence has been recently re-ignited as a result of the #metoo movement, with the related #churchtoo response also gathering momentum. Social media has blazed with commentary from those affected by abusive relationships within evangelical and fundamentalist churches all over the world, taking to #exvangelical and #emptythepews on Twitter to voice their pain and rage at abusive church practices. Last year I published a book into the reasons why people leave the evangelical church, and how they…
Continue readingThe current discussion around domestic violence, thanks to the brave clergy wives who shared their stories on the ABC recently, has made the church publicly accountable for the ways they have failed the women in their congregations. The #churchtoo movement on Twitter, has also ignited a number of conversations surrounding spiritual trauma and the physical and emotional abuse inflicted by members of the church, often in the name of Jesus. I’ve inserted some tweets below for context. Let these words…
Continue readingIn the many conversations I’ve had about religion in the last two months, trauma seems to be a reoccurring catalyst for spiritual change. Many who were once active participants in the church left, and many who hadn’t been religiously affiliated started filling the pews on a Sunday morning. For both of these groups, God played a role. I think trauma has a way of making us feel more human. All of a sudden, we’re forced to pry open the storage…
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