Reimagining Scripture
As my theology and understanding of what it means to be a Christian continues to evolve, the number one rebuttal I get from other Christians I make feel uncomfortable is, "I just believe what the Bible says." Candidly, this is a lazy response meant to shut down conversation.
Surviving the Austin Stone
A few weeks ago, I shared my perspective on how the leadership of The Austin Stone is complicit in creating a culture that allowed former pastor Aaron Ivey to commit abuse against at least four males starting in 2011. You can read my article here; I AM JAMES GÓMEZ is
Spiritual Abuse
Last week, news broke about former Pastor Aaron Ivey's firing from The Austin Stone (The Stone). I wrote an article based on my experience on staff at the church, discussing how the church should also be held culpable for the culture and environment cultivated by The Stone'
Surviving the Austin Stone
News broke earlier this week that The Austin Stone Community Church (The Stone) fired Aaron Ivey, who was their Worship and Creativity Pastor. As the news broke, it became clear that Aaron was fired for "a pattern of predatory manipulation, sexual exploitation, and abuse of influence with a teenager
Sacred Convergence
One of the things that Catholicism and Evangelicalism have in common is they both taught me to believe faith and belief were synonyms. Within both faith traditions, faith was primarily a mental exercise. Say the proper prayers, believe the right things about God, Jesus, the Trinity, sin, baptism, etc., and
Sacred Convergence
Starting in the summer of 2015 I began experiencing debilitating stomach pain that led to my losing 47 lbs from October to December of that year. Along with stomach issues I often couldn’t get out of bed, I began having panic attacks in public spaces, was constantly on alert,
Rabbit Trails
Don't worry, I'm still going to be around.
Rabbit Trails
This week I celebrated my 17th wedding anniversary. For context, my wife and I were barely older than babies (not literally) when we married in 2006. At the time, I was 22, and she was 20. We were very young, naive, and unrealistic in our expectations of what it meant
Sacred Convergence
In the evangelical background, I come from, the idea of another religion teaching or speaking to my Christian faith is a major no-no. This is because, in these circles, the Bible is seen as the single source of religious truth and God’s perfect word given to humanity. This view
Embodied Resistance
Along with 200 million other subscribers, up until the last few months, I was an Amazon Prime subscriber. Like many Amazon users, books were the gateway that hooked me on free two-day shipping, Prime member exclusive perks, and Prime Video. All the way back in 2008, it was President Obama&
Embodied Resistance
One of the biggest lessons I've learned in homeschooling is how important creating timelines is to understanding historical events. For many Americans in general and Christian Americans in particular, there is barely an understanding of what Juneteenth is, let alone its historical context. The Great Awakenings Running parallel
Reconstructing Faith
'Can someone be LGBTQIA+ and Christian?' has historically been met in most evangelical/fundamentalist circles with one of two responses. A homosexual Christian can choose to be celibate, or they can (often tragically and traumatically) go through conversion therapy to become heterosexual. A Quick Caveat I fully recognize