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Publication Update
ClayJar Review, a Christian literary journal, selected my sonnet, “Ash Wednesday 2023,” and my flash fiction story, “Protocol,” for publication. It is rare to find a Christian journal that values both authenticity and hopefulness, so I am honored to be included. My pieces, along with those by other Christian creatives, can be read here: https://clayjar.review/issues/sorrow-and-joy
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Ten Cheap and Instant Ways to Make Your Old-New House Feel Like Home
A lot of my friends are moving into their first homes, and I’m reminiscing about the absolutely chaotic time when Billy and I got engaged, left our jobs, bought a house without seeing it (or each other, as he was quarantined), got married, and moved across the country in three months. It was so stressful…
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Stop and Check Yourself. Are You Being Kind to People with Different Worship Tastes? Reestablishing the Terms of the Bethel-Hillsong Debate.
Let me open this sixth article in our Bethel-Hillsong series with a confession: I have not always been kind when it comes to worship music. I have vivid memories of sitting through sets that I didn’t like with clenched jaws and crossed arms. That is not kind. Let me follow that up with another confession.…
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Should we be Concerned that Using Music by Bethel and Hillsong is Contributing to our Culture of Immediate Gratification? On Patience and Using CCM Music in Worship
One of my favorite hobbies is discovering lesser-known Christian artists and listening to their entire output on repeat. I’ve come across some wonderful artists who have established careers and impressive catalogs of songs…so why aren’t we using their work in worship? Aside from overt issues of heresy and immorality, perhaps my biggest concern when it…
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“Lord, Lord” – A Poetic Reflection on Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will…
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Is Singing Music by Bethel and Hillsong Promoting Peace in the Body of Christ? The Answer is More Nuanced Than You Think.
Peace is a sorely abused fruit of the Spirit. Too often we are told to “keep the peace,” meaning to keep quiet and refrain from speaking hard truths. But the beatitude is “blessed are the peacemakers.” Makers. There is more to peace than comfortability and tolerance. Instead, it is about Christ making peace for us…
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Rejoicing with the Truth: Does Using Music by Bethel and Hillsong Generate Genuine Joy in our Churches?
Writing this article is more difficult than I anticipated. Yesterday, I watched the recently-released 7News documentary on Hillsong. The abuse and arrogance exposed here (and in many other sources) made me physically ill, not to mention spiritually grieved. An exposé like this gives concrete urgency to the question “to sing or not to sing?” Now,…
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Is it Loving to Sing Music by Bethel and Hillsong in Our Worship? Reexamining the Debate According to the Fruit of the Spirit Part 1
The fruit of the Spirit is love. Love is not only listed first among the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; it is the root of the fruit. For Christians, love is not a stand-alone virtue. Instead, it must contain and convey joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without these, love…
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Sick of Unfruitful Arguing? It’s Time to Reexamine the Bethel-Hillsong Debate According to the Fruit of the Spirit.
I’ve seen countless articles about the Bethel-Hillsong controversy. The debate over whether or not to use music by theologically and/or ethically suspect organizations has become the new “Worship War.” The battle previously waged between staunch traditionalists and contemporary music fans is taking a back seat to this more immediate, heated debate: Can Bible-believing congregations rightly…
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Holy Saturday 2023
I wrote a poem for Holy Saturday 2022 and it was a great creative and spiritual activity, so here’s a poem for this year: The Light of the World has been dimmed but still I rise to switch on the lamp, open the shades, let in the sun —and wait The Bread of Life has…
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The Midwest and Mortality: Reflections after a Tornado Warning
Continuing my latest string of mildly-morbid posts… When I lived in Arizona, I was invincible. At least, that’s how I felt. Sure, we had the odd monsoon and dust storm, but these rarely did anything more than shuffle our garbage bins down the street and coat our pool floaties in dirt. With only two seasons…
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Sanctified Squirrels
Our basement is weird. Even weirder than the typical Midwestern basement. In one room, a pulpit faces a window looking out on an enormous oak tree. Squirrels dart to and fro as my husband preaches to their twitchy noses and (perhaps after frightening them with difficult theological truth) their bushy tails. Down the hallway lies…
Recent Posts
- Turn Your Eyes
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Ryanne Molinari 