Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Tag: change

  • All the authority issues: reflections on a year of Patheos blogs

    Hi friends, I recently concluded an almost-year’s worth of weekly-ish blogging with Patheos. I wanted to try to sum up the journey here—including lots of links, in case there are posts you haven’t seen yet but want to check out. Lots and lots of links. You’ve been warned.  After kicking off the blog with some…

  • If love conflicts with our politics, let’s change our politics

    Hi friends, I don’t often seek out Christianity Today articles, but sometimes people bring them to my attention. And sometimes I have some feelings and thoughts about them that feel worth sharing. For instance: this recent piece about a West Texas pastor who shelters migrants, despite holding generally Republican stances on immigration. It’s so complicated.…

  • Individualism twists our understanding of injustice

    Hi friends, Ally Henny was an (online) classmate of mine in seminary, and I’ve appreciated her voice on social media ever since. But I hadn’t really read much of her (non-social-media) writing until now.  I just read her recently released book, I Won’t Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You.…

  • Can I get a witness? …Or, perhaps, a community of solidarity?

    Hi friends, I don’t know that white folks’ voices should be front and center in the affirmative action conversation, but I will just say briefly that the SCOTUS decision harms us all. Black and brown kids deserve to be able to go to college. And colleges are better learning environments when they have a diverse…

  • Shiny and Happy

    Hi friends, I’ve been continuing to watch all the recent evangelicalism exposé documentaries. It’s a lot. I’m talking The Secrets of Hillsong (some reflections here and here). I’m talking God Forbid (on the Falwells, yikes). And I’m talking Shiny Happy People (on the Duggars, Gothard, and IBLP). This week, I wanted to share a few…

  • The (Not-So-Secret?) Secrets of Hillsong

    Hi friends, Did anyone else watch The Secrets of Hillsong documentary series recently? I did, and I have a few thoughts. I’d love to hear yours too if you watched it—whether they’re similar to mine or quite different! I don’t know if “enjoyed” is quite the right word, but I certainly found the documentary morbidly…

  • No really, you don’t have to stay

    Hi friends, This week I’d like to direct your attention to a recent blog post by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes. I read this a few days ago, and it has stuck with me. Dr. Chanequa compares the logic of those who try to tell people they should keep going to church with the logic of those…

  • Mental health in a bonkers world

    Hi friends, This week, I’d like to offer you a reflection from musician, author, and activist Andre Henry: Why Therapy Isn’t Enough, I Need a Revolution. I’d encourage you to read it, and I’d love to hear what you think. I often find myself thinking some similar thoughts. I think about how many of my…

  • Spiritual conversations and the Samaritan woman (reflections on John 4:1-26)

    Hi friends, A couple weeks back, my church’s sermon and small group discussions centered on the (sadly unnamed) Samaritan woman at the well, and her conversation with Jesus as told in John 4:1-26.  At our small group meeting, I happened to pick up a version of the Bible that has Jesus’ words in red letters.…

  • Our insecurities and Jesus’ temptations

    Hi friends, Prompted by church and church small group in the last week or so, I’ve been thinking about the temptations of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11.  I explored one angle on these temptations last year, over at Feminism and Religion, in a piece called The Gendered Temptation of Jesus (based on Luke’s version…