These links offer noteworthy contributions to ongoing conversations about significant topics—whether or not we agree with all the content in each (see our Mission Statement for our beliefs).

 

Hannah Anderson writes about the vocation of parenthood and the providence of God, “I did not choose to become a parent so much as I was made a parent by forces larger and greater than I could ever fathom or control. In his sovereignty, God has called me to this good work of parenthood.”

 

Marlena Graves discusses evangelism, “Evangelism happens when we rub elbows with people on the highways and byways of our lives—the laundromat, dog park, coffee shop, church, community events, social events, work, or school. It happens among our neighbors and family members. When we connect with others in our daily routines, they have an opportunity to encounter Jesus.”

 

Natasha Sistrunk Robinson on the Christian life in the wilderness, “While it is not our responsibility as leaders to shepherd everyone through all of their life and learning transitions, we do have a duty to speak truth, extend grace, exercise humility, love well, and allow time for people to grow—if we believe that God is still in the life transformation business. We are all broken, imperfect people called to serve broken, imperfect people.”

 

Fleming Rutledge on the inadequacy of the modern idea of spirituality, “These so-called ‘New Age’ philosophies, where ‘everyone believes everything,’ seemed new back in the ’70s and ’80s. But they have since become integrated into the psychological makeup of our contemporary culture, so much so that we hardly notice them anymore: ‘Master the possibilities.’ ‘Create your own reality.’ ‘Live your truth.’ These ideas about human self-creation are deeply religious notions. They are born out of illusion, wishful thinking, and a failure to look radical evil straight in the face. Human potential—which often takes the guise of ‘spirituality’—has itself become the object of worship.”

 

Dorothy Rhoads articulates a rich theological vision of suffering and the unchanging character of God, “To hope in suffering is meaningfully and personally to internalize and respond to biblical revelation and directives. If the God of the Bible is to be trusted and his promises believed, hope in suffering is not just an invitation but an obligation; hope is the silver cord that tethers a suffering world to a loving God.”

 

Tish Harrison-Warren recounts her grief over the death of her unborn child, “In a culture divided about the worth and dignity of unborn children, grieving a miscarriage is particularly fraught. The church can come alongside women (and men) in these difficult moments and say to them, ‘Your grief is real. God sees it. We see it. And we grieve with you.’ It’s a profoundly pastoral act. It’s also a political one.”

 

Michelle Van Loon shines a light on the often hidden crises of middle age for women, “Though the Church is called to be a community that honors life transformation and fosters spiritual growth, many at midlife report that what they’re experiencing emotionally and spiritually isolates them from congregational life – and that their churches are not equipped to respond to their needs.”

 

Judy Wu Dominick explores Jesus’ command to love one’s enemies, even and especially when those enemies are in the church, “Loving our enemies, then, is the only way to avoid taking on the very characteristics we hate about them. Jesus instructs us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors precisely because loving and respecting only those who love and respect us leaves a violent and chaotic world unchanged.”

 

Many creative women long for Virginia Woolf’s elusive lonely room. Courtney Reissig teases out the dual vocations of writing and mothering, “I want to be a good writer because I want to serve the God who made me a writer. I want to be a good mom because I want to serve the God who made me a mom. These “dual vocations”, as Radford calls them, work together because God is a God of order and unity.”

 

Jasmine Holmes contemplates her new book project—and no, it won’t be on biblical womanhood, but it will be on identity—and how she has matured and grown since her first book, “My sons are taking part in that story as young black American men and I, their mother, have some thoughts about that. I don’t plan to share them as a seasoned Titus 2 woman giving advice on how to parent, but as a young Christian woman sharing a snapshot of this moment in identity formation, one with a sweet toddler who calls me Mama, and a babe in utero currently practicing his breakdancing skills.”

 

Karen Swallow Prior explores the importance of reading widely and well, “To read well is not to scour books for lessons on what to think. Rather, to read well is to be formed in how to think. Reading well adds to our life—not in the way a tool from the hardware store adds to our life, for a tool does us no good once lost or broken, but in the way a friendship adds to our life, altering us forever.”

 

Aimee Byrd defends herself against her critics who are concerned about the relationships between men and women in the church, “Is our message to the world that God has called us to salvation in Christ, made us new creations whom he is preparing for eternity on the new heavens and the new earth…and therefore we cannot exercise godly friendship between the sexes? And as a matter of fact, we should not eat with, give a ride to, or even text the other sex in order to avoid temptation? What kind of gospel message is this?”