Leadingchurch.com

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/frenemies-of-the-benedict-option/

http://www.tlchrist.info/cs_lewis.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150417-shroud-turin-relics-jesus-catholic-church-religion-science/

http://fredrikdeboer.com/2016/05/16/our-nightmare/

Salon

“I was at a concert where I heard he was attending, so I had my full security team, like I was like, ‘Find Donald Trump,’” Lawrence said. “I was adamant on finding him and making a video of me going, ‘Hey, Trump, fuck you!‘” Lawrence flashed her middle finger as she delivered the story’s punch line.

“I wouldn’t rest until he was found,” Lawrence recalled. “I think he knew I was looking for him.”

NYTimes

A church my friend Rod Hugen helped to plant.

Dreher

I thought it was an admirably complete and honest insight into what’s going on in educated young women’s minds. The Randian ideal of the rational autonomous chooser is incompatible with motherhood. It’s a crock of sh*t, besides, but that’s another story.

In any case, we are raising women to engage in 10 years or more of pointless fornication, during the prime of their fertility, during the formation of their identities and personalities and the most advanced years of their education. This means that fertility itself is now considered déclassé, contemptible, by the entire ruling class. And all of this follows naturally from that.

I spent some time over the weekend reacquainting myself with Harvard sociologist Carle C. Zimmerman’s 1947 book Family And Civilization.  It’s a sociological history of the family, and what family formation has to do with the rise and fall of civilizations. He says there are three kinds of families:

1) the trustee family, which is tribal and clannish; it maintains very strong ties among its members, and it’s hard for the individual to emerge from it;

2) the domestic family, which is pretty much our traditional conception of family: father, mother, and children; it maintains significant ties among its members, but also allows for a lot of individuality;

3) the atomistic family, which is where many, perhaps most, American families are today: a collection of people who happen to be blood relatives, but who are for the most part free agents.

Love Letter HT: RNS

However, while we have sought to remain faithful to our call and covenant, you have not always remained faithful to us. While you have welcomed us as pastors, youth leaders, district superintendents, bishops, professors, missionaries and other forms of religious service, you have required that we not bring our full selves to ministry, that we hide from view our sexual orientations and gender identities. As long as we did this, you gladly affirmed our gifts and graces and used us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world in the varied places you sent us.

RNS notes that another document is out in support of it signed by Christians and non-Christians alike.

Today, responding to their coming out letter, a broad coalition of national faith leaders outside of the United Methodist Church released a statement in support of these clergy and candidates. The statement celebrates the 111 United Methodist clergy who “risked their own security in order to share the fullness of their gifts with their faith communities and the United Methodist Church.”

National Faith Leader Statement

As siblings in faith, we join with these United Methodist LGBTQI religious leaders in praying that the United Methodist Church will stop harming LGBTQI persons, and we commit ourselves to a world where sexual and gender diversity are understood as a blessing that enriches all.”

Endorsers of the statement:

Imam Daayiee Abdullah, Executive Director, MECCA Institute (Islamic)

Sapreet Kaur, Executive Director, Sikh Coalition (Sikh)

Idit Klein, Executive Director, Keshet (Jewish)

Ms. Ani Zonnevald, President, Muslims for Progressive Values

Jonathan Chait