Tag Archives: faith

Year-End Confessions: Back from the Ashes

Posted on by April

 

20160723_105647

(c) April Kelsey

Hello, Dear Readers.

As you can probably tell from the (in)frequency of my posting, 2016 has been a tough year, and I’ve been fairly quiet about it. I thought it was time to let you know what I’ve been up to and what has changed for me.

I started 2016 in the grip of grief. I had recently said goodbye to someone who meant a great deal to me, and there was no getting over it quickly. I don’t think I’ve ever grieved so long or so hard. Basically, I cried off and on from January to August. I was also diagnosed with a deformed vertebrae in my lower back and spent most of the summer in physical therapy. My mother-in-law lived with me from May to October to help with my kids. Continue reading →

Needed: A New Conversation on LGBT in the Church

Posted on by April

light on stairsTwo weeks ago, Christian rock singer Trey Pearson came out as gay. His band, Everyday Sunday, had multiple albums and several #1 hits on the CCM single’s chart. Trey said he had tried for years to become straight, even marrying a woman and fathering two children, but nothing had changed. He wasn’t sexually attracted to his wife, was unable to meet her intimate needs, and felt burdened by having to pretend to be someone he clearly wasn’t. He and his wife had mutually agreed to separate, putting a plan in place for him to continue to be very involved in raising his children.

What shocked me about this announcement was the response to it. A fairly well-known Christian radio show host spat on Twitter that Trey was ungodly, and so were all the other CCM artists who had come out as gay in recent years.

Ungodly?

All Trey had confessed to was same-sex attraction. Not an affair. Not abusive behavior. Not breaking one of the commandments. Just “I like men.” Yet that statement alone was enough to erase his godliness and call his salvation into question.
Continue reading →

Review: Confessions of a Jew-ish Skeptic

Posted on by April

Jewish SkepticSome of you may follow Sarabeth Caplin’s blog on WordPress. A few weeks ago, she contacted me and asked if I would review her latest book, Confessions of a Jew-ish Skeptic, which is releasing this Friday. And I said “Yes!” because I like what she writes and think this book would appeal to many readers of this blog.

To give some background, Continue reading →

Toward a Systematic Theology of Love

Posted on by April
3822789536_481825556e_b

Image by fdecomite on Flikr

A while back, I wrote a post entitled “On Picking and Choosing.” In it, I talked about the lenses through which people read and interpret scripture.

A few years ago, informed both by scripture and my personal experience of God, I decided I would always read the Bible through the lens of love. After all, Jesus said love was the greatest commandment and the peg upon which hung all of the Law and the prophets (Matthew 22:36-40). I figured I couldn’t go wrong with that.

But I have to admit, the love lens messed me up. It tore to shreds my belief in a hell of eternal conscious torment. It convicted me deeply of my tepid generosity toward the poor. It made me reconsider the Church’s condemnation of LGBT people.

Love always exacts a toll.

Continue reading →

Guest Post: Christian and Transgender

Posted on by April

Does God love Transgender people?

Megan

Megan H.

Can a person be Christian and Transgender?

I believe the answer to both of those questions is yes, and I will explain why I think so in a future post.

Today’s guest post is from Megan H., a Transgender woman who loves God and seeks to honor him by loving others. She blogs at www.finallymegan.com and advocates for others in the Transgender community. I reached out to Megan on social media and invited her to tell her story here. I realize this is a controversial topic and not everyone will agree. But I humbly ask that you read Megan’s words with an open heart and ask yourself, “Do I truly believe God accepts everyone who loves Him?”

* * * * *

I have known that I was Transgender since I was a child. I did not learn the term until I was in my 20’s, but I knew that I was different. This went so much deeper than wanting to wear dresses or play with dolls. It was a belief that I was a girl and that something was terribly wrong. Why didn’t I look like the other girls in school? Why was I being told to go sit with the boys during lessons? I was around five years old the first time I looked in the mirror and truly wondered what was wrong with me. Continue reading →