22nd
Introducing Faith and Sexuality :: A Series of Conversations on Discovery, Community and Hope
On Wednesday, June 24 Bridging the Gap is facilitating a synchroblog on the issues that arise when faith and sexuality intersect. They’ve gotten some pretty interesting folks in the mix including Donald Miller, Brian McClaren, the Catalyst Foundation and many, many more.
That day I plan on posting the first of a meandering series of pieces I’ll be writing this year on faith and sexuality. But I wanted to introduce the conversation before I start putting blog posts out there.
Over the past few months I’ve had a number of conversations with friends about faith and sexuality. The friendships more than the conversations have provoked within me a restlessness with how I grew up thinking about the issues. As I’ve engaged a few of my friends regarding their stories and experiences, I’ve become more restless and more concerned that this conversation be pushed to the forefront of where Christians hope to see the relevancy of faith intersect with society.
As I shared this with one friend and mentioned that I’d probably start blogging about it, she semi-jokingly cautioned me, “Don’t forget, we’re in a recession.” Unfortunately, after posting some thoughts last year (click here or here or even here for some of the better posts) about the election, Phileena and I did lose some personal supporters. Sadly, I wasn’t surprised. And I think this points to the problem: as people of faith with strong convictions, we don’t do a good job of agreeing to disagree.
I’m sure some of my thoughts on faith and sexuality will cause reaction and response. I can guarantee that at least someone will disagree with everything I write on this issue (and that person will likely be the most vocal about posting her/his thoughts). And I know that being honest about my journey in coming to understand some of these things differently will challenge many conservative evangelical assumptions. But I think, if you’re willing to engage the dialogue, we can all grow together.
Finally, just a note on how I hope the conversation will go. I’d ask that you start by reading my post on “Some Blog Comment Guidelines :: Ownership, Content and Tone.” But to accompany that piece here are a few reminders:
- Anonymity: I added a “comments” program to my blog (tumblr blogs don’t have one built-in) because I know that it’s not fair for me to put my ideas and thoughts out there without giving people a chance to respond. I am putting my name behind what I post and I’d ask you to do the same. I think it takes courage to stand behind what you believe in and so I invite you to take ownership of your thoughts. If you feel you must comment anonymously that’s your choice, but if the tone or content of your anonymous comments are out of line then your post might be marked as “spam.”
- Dissonance: I absolutely love diversity of thought and I love trying to find the harmony when people seem to disagree. Fundamentally, this conversation will invite varied opinions, feelings and responses. All are welcome to join it and all positions will be respected.
- Free Speech: The only comment I ever deleted from my blog was a racist one. I believe in freedom of speech but if anyone uses derogatory language, makes inappropriate slurs or posts offensive comments I will delete them.
- Independent Though: I also want to make it clear that my posts do not reflect the position of Word Made Flesh. Our community is eclectic and diverse in how we approach issues, and we have even more conclusions and opinions as we do starting points. We are encouraged to be thoughtful, reflective and imaginative in how we think about these kinds of things. I ask that you do not take out your grievances, frustrations or disagreements with me on the community.
So get ready. Over the next couple months you can look forward to this little blog series: Sexuality and Faith: Conversations on Discovery, Community and Hope.
