The Marcella Project

Sex is such a complicated topic because it's so personal and vulnerable. Most of our parents didn't talk about it; culture is hypersexualized, our parents were quiet, and porn's the go-to for learning how to. And sadly, our faith communities aren't doing much better. 

Many of the messages we received in the conservative faith community, were well, just wrong.

It's been three years since we've gone home for Christmas to be with my extended family, Covid. You know. And I anticipate warm wood-burning fires and fabulous food. Cause we are all foodies. My younger siblings have young kids --- you know it's the kiddos that make Christmas; their excitement and wonder are contagious. So I'm excited to be with them. But I'd be remiss if I left you with this Norman Rockwell image of my family. Because well, like most of you, my family’s got stuff and it can blow up, on Christmas. So there's that too. Isn't this the accurate picture of life, Tov and Ra, good and bad all mixed in?

Today I’m talking with Rob Dixon about ten attributes that create flourishing relationships between men and women.

Rob’s work speaks specifically to mixed-gender relationships in ministry and the workplace, but I have to tell you, I highlighted some things for Steve and me to discuss when he gets home from Africa.

The holiday season is upon us. And many of you have shared your angst about what could happen around the table; there’s potential for explosive conversations that could harm the relationships. Or maybe for some of you, the time around the table is just, well, boring. No one ever really says anything, just a lot of small talk, and you usually leave feeling like it was a waste of time.

So I thought, what if this year we got intentional about our time around the table.

What is this year we showed up?

Abraham and Sarah and Hagar is a crazy story from the Bible that pastors often use as biblical support for telling women to go back and submit to their abusive husbands.

Does this familiar passage ask women to submit to their abusive husband’s authority? Hmm, well, perhaps it doesn’t. Are we really seeing what our Bible says?

I’m learning a new skill when reading the bible; it’s a skill teaching me to look for women.

For example, I’ll ask my students to turn to a familiar passage like Luke 10, the story of Mary and Martha. And I ask them what they learned about this passage. Usually, they tell me it has something to do with having a quiet time with Jesus. I say, let’s take another look.

Today I want to talk about God’s people being condescending. Yes, condescending, not in the way we’ve come to understand that word, to be patronizing or act superior. No, not that but rather what the term used to mean.