It is a tragic and agonizing irony that instructions once delivered for the purpose of avoiding needless offense are now invoked in ways that needlessly offend, that words once meant to help draw people to the gospel now repel them.

Evangelicalism is like my religious mother tongue. I revert to it whenever I’m angry or excited or surrounded by other people who understand what I’m saying. And it’s the language in which I most often hear God’s voice on the rare occasion that it rises above the noise.

As a Christian, my highest calling is not motherhood; my highest calling is to follow Christ.

We are not spared death, but the power of death has been defeated. The grip of sin has been loosed. We are invited to share the victory, to follow the path of God back to life.

I’m ready to stop waging war and start washing feet.

What makes the Gospel offensive isn’t who it keeps out, but who it lets in.

We cling to the letter because the spirit is so much harder to master.