Tag: religion
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Dear Men, I’m Not Angry at You.
I have a firm belief there exists a silent group of women. They are fierce and bold, but you rarely hear from them. Too often, they are drowned out by the voices of other women who will not be silenced. The group of women to which I refer is the group who is not angry…
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Conquering Fear
To Those Who Have a Crazy Dream: Fear is a funny thing. It’s funny because it often comes wearing unexpected disguises. Rather than the scary black cloak and long pointy finger nails we expect, Fear usually arrives wearing business casual, preppy heels, red lipstick and toting a designer purse. She’s prepared with an agenda and…
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Thoughts and Prayers
The phrase “thoughts and prayers aren’t enough” keep rolling around in my head like angry little marbles. I’ve read phrases like “we need more policies” and “this isn’t about religion.” I’ve read phrases that say God has been “taken out of public schools” and “this kind of thing didn’t use to happen. ” I open…
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Why Does it Hurt so Much?
I’m standing in church this morning during worship. Surrounded by hundreds of people worshipping God fearlessly and beautifully. And what is the thought that comes rushing into my head, right past the bethel music lyrics on my tongue? What if someone came into the church right now and started shooting? What if that story became…
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Let’s get off Justin Bieber’s Back
“I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time…
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Dear Church, I have some questions for you.
Dear Church, I have some questions for you. A whole pile of you are really miserable. Christian couples I admired throughout my childhood are divorcing right and left. After years of watching you have what I thought was a happy marriage, now I’m finding out you were pretending the whole time. You tell me marriage…
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The Mission Trip Myth
So I went, and I’ve come back again. My heart is full to overflowing with hope for Honduras. My time there was sweet like mangoes and deep like coffee and hard like rain. Reunited with friends and family over tortillas and hot coffee and served together the amazing Honduran community. Th time I spend in…
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How to Have Counter-Cultural Opinions Without Offending Anyone
This has been my struggle lately. I look at the way the world is turning, and how seemingly concrete things like gender and marriage and the right to life are being questioned like never before. Sometimes I post my thoughts about certain issues, and ‘m really not trying to be controversial, I just really feel…
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It’s Possible to Walk Away from God While Listening to Bethel
It is entirely possibly to walk away from God while singing worship songs and leading ministries and discipling other people. Just ask me. It’s possible to be in the midst of the presence of God while simultaneously wishing very terrible things on the the person next to you. It’s possible to have Bethel playing in…
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Who Really Wins Today
Today is an historic day! Today we continue the American tradition of electing our President, our leader. Today, we uphold the values of a democratic republic and the process of the electoral college. Today, Donald Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States of America. But other than that, not much changes. You and…
Sarah D. Shearer 