testing, testing

so, where were we?

this blog continues a conversation started on hausfrau, about sorting through the evangelical culture and practices of our individual and collective childhoods. austin called it "the spiritual hangover." perhaps this conversation could be "the spiritual strong cup of coffee" that helps the hangover pass. that may be too much to hope for, but you have to try, right?

one guideline at the beginning:

mere griping about how annoying evangelicals were/are just isn't that interesting. same with gloating about how glad we feel, now that we're over it. that's not really interesting, either. there are tons of places online for that kind of thing, but this blog is for working toward something more nuanced and productive. like, how to live like a christian in the aftermath. so, be truthful, be observant, be amused, be mad, be conflicted, be critical, etc., but please keep contempt out of the picture. not that i think it'll be a problem for any of you; mainly a word to me.

to kick us off, a few choice thoughts from your comments in the past post:

andrea said:
Coming from a completely pragmatic background, but with such missionary stories also read to me, I was told that daily prayer and Word-time was necessary to fuel my fire, but I also wrestled with the expectation that we were all to be missionaries to the ends of the earth (even jerusalem, judea and samaria were not far-reaching enough--- it had to be to the ends of the earth). So what the heck am I doing in Wichita?

caron said:
i think i may be JUST GETTING TO THE POINT of owning my theology (that wasn't there during the growing up years because we were too busy doing anything other than reading the bible). the application of theology that i've studied and believed over the past 8 or 9 years is just now happening.

carla said:
I struggle to write about this stuff. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because I struggle to write about it without using tired church language. Perhaps there's a certain amount of embarrassment that much of my struggle has been related to my whole hearted embracing of the "self aggrandiz[ing]" belief that my life would be different, set apart, and my difficulty reconciling that with comparatively normal thoughts I'm thinking and life I'm leading.

discuss. :)