where i am

hey beloveds,

i get asked a lot about what my religion is. the question is seldom so formal, but working as a chaplain i get asked a lot about where i am coming from as a spiritual care provider.

sometimes family and friends ask me about my faith too. i’ve been hit with nearly every label in the book: charismatic, fundamentalist, liberal, conservative, nondenominational, etc.

so this is my attempt to briefly and succinctly summarize where i am faith wise.

first, a note about where i’ve been. i grew up in the ultra-conservative fundamentalist evanjacent churches of Christ. it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that i no longer identify with that denomination. i am tremendously grateful for all the good and beautiful things i got from my tradition. i wrote a blog post previously a few years ago where i stated that i could not stop being church of Christ…. but i have since changed my mind. i can stop and i have stopped. i am a healthier human being for it, but that’s my journey. others will have to make their own choice.

where am i now then? i would self-identify as a progressive Christian. some are using terms like exvangelical or post-evangelical. i am not opposed all together to these labels, but find them restrictive because they define who they are by what they are not. i want to define myself by what i am.

labels are not everything. so what exactly do i mean when i say i am a progressive Christian? i get asked this too when i self-identify as a progressive Christian.

here’s a list of a few things i mean when i say “progressive Christian:”

• i seek to advocate for inclusion, diversity, and communal flourishing
• i fully and unequivocally affirm my LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ
• i am deeply centered on Jesus Christ and i am also willing to learn from a broad variety of religions and traditions
• i take the bible seriously, but not always literally
• i am committed to the pursuit of a just and peaceable world
• i believe that doubt is a normal part of faith and further that doubt is not the opposite of faith, but certainty is
• i seek to do my theology in pencil and not in pen – always growing, learning, and reforming
• i do not believe in “hell” in any traditional sense and believe it is an outright corruption of scripture
• i believe God is open and relational – i reject omnipotence in favor of amipotence

i would summarize my stance as this: i am an open and relational disciple of Jesus of Nazareth with an eclectic and generous orthodoxy.

so there ya go.

love, light, and blessings,

a.