All Things

Last month I had the privilege of speaking at the Acts 29 North America Conference. I gave a message entitled Brothers and Sisters on Mission Together, an issue I am passionate about and one that continues to require care and attention.

I’m sharing the audio from that message here, on this 99th episode of All Things. Or you can see video here. This message is brief, just about 18 minutes long as it was one in a series of shorter Ted-style talks. I hope it’s an encouragement to you, wherever you serve—whether that’s in professional ministry or lay ministry in your local church.

And as always, Thank you for listening in.

On this episode of All Things I have the joy of sharing Dr. Vanessa Hawkins with you. Dr. Hawkins thinks, writes, and speaks about Biblical justice (and more!) and she’s sharing her wisdom with us on today’s episode. We’re looking at questions like:

What is Biblical justice?

How do we know if we’re pursuing it or avoiding it?

Why do we tend to have more conversations (even in the church!) about critical race theory and wokeness than we do about what God says about justice?

How can we pursue justice at the polls next week?

As we prepare for another election week, I hope you’ll tune in and that this episode serves you well.

In recent years women and girls have become increasingly active users of pornography websites. Not only that, but young women are increasingly viewing violent porn. Pornography should not be considered a man’s issue, but a human issue. More women and girls are addicted every day and unsure of where to find help.

To shine a light on this weighty topic, I invited Ashley Jameson of Pure Desire Ministries onto today’s episode. Ashley says she spent years in a pattern of finding freedom from one addiction only to find herself in another. She has overcome betrayal and her own love and sex addiction.She knows firsthand the power of walking with others through recovery and she wants women who feel alone and stuck in their struggles to know they are not alone and there is hope.

Ashley Jameson is a certified Pastoral Sex Addiction Professional (PSAP) through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and has been trained in the Multidimensional Partner Trauma Model (MPTM) through The Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS). She has been instrumental in training new leaders to advance the message of hope and healing throughout the church. Ashley’s transparency is refreshing; her love for Jesus is contagious. You don’t want to miss her story and expertise.

Resources:

Cultural Counterfeits - by Jen Oshman

Pure Desire Ministries

Pornhub Stats Reveal Women Search for More Hardcore Genres Than You Might Expect

How Many Women Watch Porn?

Protests began erupting across Iran in late September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested in Tehran by morality police. Amini, who was visiting Tehran with her family, was arrested for not wearing her headscarf, and died in a hospital three days later. Her brother reports she was taken to a “re-education center” for not abiding by the state’s hijab rules and was beaten there. State police say Amini died from a heart attack, but her family insists she had no heart issues and was beaten to death by the police. Massive demonstrations began at Amini’s funeral, and they continue to sweep across the country now five weeks later. Human rights monitors have reported hundreds dead, including children. As of a few days ago, the count is up to at least 233 Iranians dead, with 32 below the age of 18.

To take a deeper look at what’s happening right now in Iran, I invited my friend Laurie Meberg on to today’s episode. Laurie lives in France and she has about 10 years of experience serving the Iranian church in different cities and capacities around the world. Laurie also grew up worshipping in a church with connections to the Iranian church, so she’s been praying for the Iranian church and Persian Christians her whole life. Laurie shares the perspectives of her Iranian friends with us, as well as some ways we can be better informed, pray, and even protest from the other side of the world.

Helpful links related to today’s episode:

Shervin Hajipour’s song Baroye (For/Because of) w/ English subtitles: https://youtu.be/TPyHuCZzsVA

articleeighteen.com is an organization by Iranian Churches in Europe geared toward holding the Republic of Iran accountable for human rights offenses and especially against Christians.

This explains a bit about the morality police: https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2022/oct/13/explainer-who-are-the-morality-policebasijs-leading-the-crackdown-on-irans-protests-2507716.html

Listeners can pressure their own congresspeople to hold Iran accountable for human rights offenses. Ghazaleh Pakdel and Sarah Bahiraei have drafted a letter or template to use: https://docs.google.com/document/d/131jpaWSjq9hr9tsQ57msNhAZ0a2BWWv985dJpb2PFQQ/edit

"The daily" podcast from NYT dated September 28 is a really good overview/background for what’s going on: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcasts/the-daily/id120036?i=1000580894944

Iranian Bible Society: https://www.onemorelamp.org

In 2021, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (the first Indigenous American to serve as a Cabinet Secretary in the US) called for an investigation into the Federal Native American Boarding School System. In May of this year, the first report was made from the investigation—it was the first acknowledgment by the US government that between 1819 and 1969 (150 years!), the United States operated or supported 408 boarding schools across 37 states (or then-territories), including 21 schools in Alaska and 7 schools in Hawaii. The report finds that indigenous children (American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian) were forcibly removed from their homes and suffered abuse, malnourishment, and even death in the boarding schools. So far, 53 burial sites for children have been found across the school system. Native Nations scholars estimate that as many as 40,000 children died. Many survivors live today and even shared their testimonies at a Congressional hearing earlier this year. This American history has been hidden for so long, but is now coming into the light. How ought we receive it? What can we do? How can we be used to advance justice, mercy, and light in what has been so dark? Let’s not look away from this history, but look toward it, toward these precious image bearers who were lost and those who have descended from them. This history is near—both in time and place. Let’s cry out to the God of all nations for healing.

The following links provided background for this episode:

‘It is a history that we must learn from if we are to heal': U.S. reckons with role in Native American boarding schools

Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report

Investigations Into Abuse At Native American Boarding Schools Going Back To 19th Century

Colorado begins review of former Indian boarding school at Fort Lewis College

H.R.5444 - Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act

S.2907 — 117th Congress

State-Sponsored Abuse in Canada

Report outlines federal 'abuse' of Native children at boarding schools

Should Christians call our friends, relatives, coworkers, and kids by their preferred names and pronouns if they do not match their biological sex? This is the million dollar question we’ve been asking amongst ourselves for the past few years. I am asked it all the time and I’ve been reluctant to address it publicly until now. As I say on this episode, I think we should offer one another tremendous charity and generosity in this conversation. This past weekend, while speaking on a panel alongside some friends from my church, I heard some very helpful wisdom, which my friend attributed to Sam Allberry: Our aim as Christ followers should be to maintain our witness and maintain our relationships. Listen to the episode to find out more about what that means.

Americans only take about half of their paid time off, leaving the other half unspent and unused. Further, only one-third of American adults regularly get at least seven hours of sleep a night. Why do we struggle to rest? What keeps us at work and awake?

On this episode of All Things I invite my husband and pastor, Mark Oshman, to help us understand the Biblical idea and command to rest. He helps us to see what we often attribute to one commandment in the Old Testament is actually a pattern throughout scripture and creation. He says Jesus came to give us true rest. Taking one day a week to pursue rest and restoration is a “get to” not a “have to.” Together we talk about how we pursue rest both professional and personally, as well as so routines we’ve carved out as a busy family with busy teens in the home. My hope is that this episode will spur you on to create a rhythm of rest in your own life.

Additional resources:

Why it's so hard for US workers to ask for time off - BBC

One in three adults don’t get enough sleep - CDC

Redemption Parker sermon series on Margin - This is just the first in a 4-part sermon series.

Hopefully you’re enjoying a brief work week after having Labor Day off on Monday! On this week’s episode we are taking a look at work from a Christian perspective. We’re going all the way back to the beginning and unpacking the Creation Mandate and what it means to bear God’s image in the spheres where he has placed us. My hope is that this episode will encourage you in your work, wherever that may. As followers of Christ you are an outpost of his kingdom whether your work is in the home, in an office, out in public, across the world, or across the street. Our God is creative and our callings are diverse—all work is a way to honor God, love him, and love others. Beyond an understanding of work, we take a quick look at a few fun and interesting statistics regarding women in the labor force and we close out with a reminder that we are limited humans and called to not only work, but to rest. Be encouraged—your work is good work! Your work is a means of bringing light to dark places. Your work matters.

Be sure to check out the Women & Work Website and the Women, Work, and Calling one-day conference hosted by the Denver Institute for Faith and Work.

Women in the US Workforce

Welcome back to All Things! As I come off a two-month break and head back to school, along with many of you, I’m contemplating how my family might pursue rest rather than hustle this year. Many (most?) of us in the wealthy west are over-scheduled and over-tired. Study after study (linked in the show notes below) reveal that our kids are not getting enough sleep or down time. Stress and anxiety are on the rise, while slow family dinners and restful times at home are on the decline. What is it about our identities or culture or flesh that drive us to live at an unsustainable pace? How can we move forward this year with care and intention so we don’t hop back on the hamster wheel that so many others are running on? This episode is a reminder to myself and an encouragement to you about what really matters as we kick off another school year and new season of All Things.

5 ways kids spend time differently today than in the past

New Survey on Free Time Illustrates the Challenges Today's Families Face in an Age of Screens

A Study on Children’s Free Time: How It Is Spent, Prioritized and Valued

After-school activities: The pros and cons of filling your kids’ schedule

Is Your Child Too Busy?

Extracurriculars: How many is too many?

Kids are losing interest in organized sports. Why that matters

New CA law requires later start times for middle and high schools this upcoming year

Young Bible readers more likely to be faithful adults, study finds

On this episode of All Things I am joined by Lori Arfsten who has been entrenched in pro-life work in Colorado for decades. Lori’s frontline work gives her a wholistic view of the movement and an educated perspective on how we might better meet the needs of abortion-vulnerable women. I so appreciate Lori’s humility and desire to pay attention to the voices and perspectives of women from across the movement: those who are faith-based and those who are not, women of color, indigenous women, and more. Lori says that while politicians control the public pro-life narrative, it’s really this diverse and compassionate crowd in the trenches who hold the key to expanding our pro-life care. She exhorts the church to get serious about understanding the multi-faceted issue of abortion (there are so many interrelated reasons that cause women to consider abortion) and how we might offer wholistic care to women and youth on the margins so that abortion no longer feels like a necessary option to them. Because Lori is driven to never stop learning, she’s a truly helpful teacher on this topic. Have a listen and consider how you might expand your own thoughts, words, and actions in the pro-life movement.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Alternatives Pregnancy Center

Erika Bachiochi - author and pro-life legal scholar

Pro Black Pro Life

New Wave Feminists

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America