A Personal Update and Some Thoughts on Pluralism

Hi, all! I know it has been a very long time since I've created any new content for this site. I never intended to go into blogging hiatus for seven months, but in the meantime I've been promoting my coedited anthology, Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church. I was doing some public speaking … Continue reading A Personal Update and Some Thoughts on Pluralism

Epic Christian Fails: The Stepford Second Lady

In honor of Halloween, I've decided to make October's #EpicChristianFails entry more horror than humor. That being said, the occasion that inspired this month's blog post did elicit a dark chuckle and a smirk from me, while providing a heaping helping of disgust as well. It's definitely not a knee-slapper, but it does involve knees. … Continue reading Epic Christian Fails: The Stepford Second Lady

Reflections on Religion News Association’s 2019 Conference

On Wednesday, September 18, I flew to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the annual conference of Religion News Association, an organization that has been around since 1949. https://twitter.com/C_Stroop/status/1174050109606129664?s=20 Some time back, ex-evangelical journalist Liam Adams invited me to be part of a panel on religion reporting and social media along with him, Aysha Khan, and Sophia … Continue reading Reflections on Religion News Association’s 2019 Conference

Christian Dominionism: A Beginner’s Guide to Terms and Context

At the encouragement of an anonymous colleague and friend, who has given me access to software that allows me to create infographics, I've been thinking about ways to put the software--Adioma--to good use. The first infographic I created features a set of six anti-proselytizing principles. I released it on Twitter, and I expanded on the … Continue reading Christian Dominionism: A Beginner’s Guide to Terms and Context

Epic Christian Fails: “CHRIST” on a Pickup Truck! And Other Quotation Quandaries

What would be your first thought on seeing the word "CHRIST," in all caps and quotation marks, plastered across the rear windshield of a pickup truck? If your answer falls more along the lines of "Someone is apparently swearing at me" than "Jesus take the wheel" or "Would you have a moment to talk about … Continue reading Epic Christian Fails: “CHRIST” on a Pickup Truck! And Other Quotation Quandaries

Epic Christian Fails: A Malefic Mix-Up

It's the end of the month, and you know what that means. It's time for this month's edition of #EpicChristianFails, in which Not Your Mission Field sifts through a month's worth of the always abundant examples of unintentionally amusing incompetence in Christian contexts and highlights one as the month's most "epic" Christian fail. In a first, … Continue reading Epic Christian Fails: A Malefic Mix-Up

Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Writer and Former Minister Verdell A. Wright

As a trained theologian with degrees from the Howard School of Divinity and Wesley Theological Seminary, Verdell A. Wright is an atheist who knows the Bible well. In fact, while he enjoyed pursuing his theological education, he often found churches somewhat intellectually stifling. As he once remarked, "Depending on what church you’re going to, a … Continue reading Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Writer and Former Minister Verdell A. Wright

Epic Christian Fails: Arky Arky Awkwardness

From presenting gladiatorial battles with dinosaurs as "historical fiction," to its dour loose canon of a president and CEO Ken Ham tweeting such gems as "When atheists use a 7 day [sic.] week, they are actually attesting to the truth of God's Word in Genesis," Answers in Genesis is a treasure trove of #EpicChristianFails. In fact, … Continue reading Epic Christian Fails: Arky Arky Awkwardness