Church Education

Having studied religion academically, I believe that serious education should be at the core of religious practice.  I am saddened by the current state of American Christianity, which I believe is ignorant and prejudicial in many of its forms.  The media portrayal of Christianity has been monopolized by Evangelicalism and fundamentalists who portray Christianity in ways that do not represent my faith or practice.  While it can be easy to dismiss such movements within Christianity, I think that engaging in dialogue with other Christians is key to bridging the divide and growing the progressive movement.  Being able to support my views Biblically is very important to inter-Christian dialogue and for building strong foundations for others’ faith through ministry.

I firmly believe that education is the best way to promote changes of hearts and minds; we must start with ourselves.  In continuing my academic study of religion I hope to build a ministry that will further root my values in my scripture and tradition and give me the tools I need to expand progressive Christianity and work for justice.  While I believe that Christianity can provide the moral background for social justice work on current issues, I also believe that institutionalized Christianity has, in many facets, turned against Jesus’ message of radical inclusivity and love in the interest of preserving church hierarchies and patriarchal systems.  I believe that justice needs to be done by Christians, but also for the wider institution of Christianity.  That begins with helping to create an educated church body whose values are based in a scripture that is deeply understood and freed from the dogmatic cages it has been kept in for generations.