living the Gospel in an everyday world
Do you remember your first childhood loss? A missing or broken toy? Perhaps a pet that died. What was your parent’s response? “Don’t cry. We’ll get another one!” I do remember the consolation of mom replacing a little flower that I nurtured after the dog dug it up. But my first … [Read More...]
I remember well the phone call. “I am Pastor _____ and I have a question for you. One of the women in our church talked with me recently and she insists we have a ministry just for women. And I don’t get it. Can’t women just join in with the rest of us as we Encourage, Edify and … [Read More...]
Titus lived in a decadent culture, Crete. Paul’s description of the people who lived in this society may sound familiar to us. There are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers . . . . They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not … [Read More...]
Written by WS alumna Cathy Baldizon, MA When we returned to the US after 20 years overseas I was confident that once I graduated from Western with a Masters in Pastoral Care to Women, the degree and what I had learned would ensure that the next time we were posted abroad a new paradigm of … [Read More...]
Carol, I, as a member of Christ’s body, apologize to you and the many women like you who have experienced incredible pain, marginalization and loss from the church because we have not reached out to you in your pain with understanding and compassion. I am so sorry! May you find it in your heart … [Read More...]
Do you remember your first childhood loss? A missing or broken toy? Perhaps a pet that died. What was your parent’s response? “Don’t cry. We’ll get another one!” I do remember the consolation of mom replacing a little flower that I nurtured after the dog dug it up. But my first remembrance of a deep…
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I remember well the phone call. “I am Pastor _____ and I have a question for you. One of the women in our church talked with me recently and she insists we have a ministry just for women. And I don’t get it. Can’t women just join in with the rest of us as we…
Read More
Titus lived in a decadent culture, Crete. Paul’s description of the people who lived in this society may sound familiar to us. There are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers . . . . They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach and that…
Read More
Written by WS alumna Cathy Baldizon, MA When we returned to the US after 20 years overseas I was confident that once I graduated from Western with a Masters in Pastoral Care to Women, the degree and what I had learned would ensure that the next time we were posted abroad a new paradigm of…
Read More
Carol, I, as a member of Christ’s body, apologize to you and the many women like you who have experienced incredible pain, marginalization and loss from the church because we have not reached out to you in your pain with understanding and compassion. I am so sorry! May you find it in your heart to…
Read More
One of my habits is to regularly write a post for this blog site. I am, after all, a mass of habits. I would like to think that my daily choices are the products of well-considered decision making, but as Charles Duhigg notes in his book, The Power of Habit, they are not. They are…
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Yes, yes, yes, Carol. I DO see hope in the church! I too dream of the church becoming a place where people understand pain like yours and express care to people in your situation. Certainly a new focus—a new understanding of ministry is needed. What could that look like? In two previous blogs, (please see…
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Carol’s own personal pain (see previous blog, Do You See Any Hope in the Church?) generated a penetrating question that required more than a trite response: Bev, do you ever see the church becoming a place where people understand pain like this and express care to people in my situation? Frankly, I rarely go to…
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I sat across the lunch table with a former key staff member of a well-known Christian ministry. We briefly exchanged stories and then Carol (not her real name) said, Bev, tell me the truth. Do you see any hope in the church? Hope? I asked. Carol continued. After my husband, a committed church leader, walked…
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Tears filled our eyes. The loss of a child. How does a loving parent ever recover? Our dear, dear friends were walking this painful path of life. Clearly the props of life were knocked out from under them. We arrived at their home on what would have been Kelly’s 41st birthday. They embraced us with…
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