Faith Dance

The Power of Intimate Cross-Gender Friendship Stories

This excerpt is from David Ford's The Shape of Living. In the context it applies generally to good stories of intimacy. However, this is exactly how more stories of intimate, but non-romantic cgfs will grow among Christian leaders in our communities, among those who are not leaders, etc. One of the things I have heard on more than one occasion is that my friendships are "exceptional" and shouldn't be the norm for Christians or Christian leaders. Ah! But Christians, know the power of a good love story (i.e. the Gospels are a pretty good place to start).  There will be those who will scoff and those who remain skeptical. Others though, will hear, believe, embrace, and begin the wild adventure of love.  

This is how Ford explains the power of a good story of intimacy: "There are terrible distortions and violations of intimacy in pornography, media purchases of tell-all stories, and much graphic fiction in novels and films. But there are also good testimonies to intimacy. They can be found in all the arts and in all media. An intimacy that is disciplined, in the sense of being vigiliant about right and wrong boundaries, seeks out those good testimonies, feeds on them, and then generates its own." 

Mere Churchianity: A Robust Call to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality

"Jesus is completely unlike most of the stuff that Christians try to stick on him. Like it or not, the message of Jesus is distinctive, electric, and stunning, because there's nothing else like it."

Count me in as one of those who see a difference between a Jesus-shaped spirituality and a church-based spirituality. Of course, is that any surprise for those who know me? Michael Spencer passed away before he could see Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to a Jesus-Shaped Spirituality published.

 

Sexual Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism Pt 2

Melinda Selmys' journey from an atheist-lesbian activist to hetereosexual marriage and the Catholic faith is too compelling for anyone to ignore. The line in the sand in the political-cultural-theological wars (at least one of the lines) is whether or not orientation is "immutable."  Her appearance this year at a Notre Dame conference raised the hackles of those who specialize in "ex-gay watch." Several of those lashed out at Notre Dame for including her. So, we are in the midst of this intense national conversation with nervous anxiety on both sides wondering whose narrative gets heard in our communities (church, popular and academic culture). The stakes are high for our post-Freudian culture prizes individualistic sexual identity/experience (heterosexual or homosexual).

This book is an important contribution to the conversation. I am sure my gay friends will come to different conclusions than my conservative friends. It won't surprise those who know me, that I was encouraged to hear friendship as a key aspect in her journey from a lesbian lover to heterosexual marriage. But, her Catholic friends, as much as I could pick up on, loved her for who she was--loved her "strangeness." They didn't treat her as an evangelistic project. She has some strong things to say against Christian therapists who practice reparative therapy.