Friday Must Reads

Mars Hill Refuge is starting something new!  Each Friday we will post articles that have affected us, inspired us, angered us or stuck with us.

My (Sophia) personal favorite this week:
Well Behaved Women Won't Change the Church ~ Kathy Escobar
"Change in the church will come when women passionately follow Jesus, not systems-made-in-his-name-that-do-not-reflect-his-image.
Change in the church will come when women bravely use their voices, power, and any influence they have to inspire others to be brave, too.
I admit, it’s still sometimes hard for me to not be the good-girl. I miss the safety. I miss the praise. I miss the security, even if it was false. Some days I wish I could make nice like I used to because it was so much easier then.
But the Kingdom of God was never about easy. It was never about comfort. It was never about maintaining the status-quo. It was never about playing nice."

Cups ~ Phoenix Preacher

"God is doing two things  in your life  and mine right now…He is transforming us into the image of His son in preparation for eternity and He is using us in some mysterious way to  further His kingdom plan for the ages toward it’s consummation. Whatever cup you are drinking from is part of those processes…and I don’t think there is any other way."

Have You Been Spiritually Abused? This is for You ~ Matthew Paul Turner
"With a conservative estimate of 4,000 abusive churches and cults in America? Spiritual abuse is real, and the Church needs to talk about it. Spiritual abuse happens when a pastor or spiritual leader mistreats or uses another for their own gain. The word of the pastor trumps the needs of the individual. People are manipulated for the sake of a gospel that isn’t good news at all. The sickest part is that this abuse happens in the name of God. If the member asks questions about abusive practices, they are the problem. Because they question the authority of the pastor, their soul is in jeopardy. Often they are cut off from their entire social system of family and friends. They are called demon-possessed and told they are in dangers of the fires of hell. They are told this is love. Jesus most certainly does need new PR."


A Challenge to Mark's interpretation on Tough Text Thursdays ~ UnReformed
"So even though the text he just read said specifically "DO NOT MAKE ANY VOWS" which is 100% red letters I might add, Driscoll asserts that he didn't really mean "not to" when he said "not to" and actually God's will is that we DO make vows from time to time. I think this is a nice little sight guise into the theological misuse of scripture over at MH."


Defining Forgiveness and Reconciliation ~ Cindy from Under Much Grace
"Reconciliation is a reckoning that the involved parties make together, essentially wiping away the history of the debt. The two parties write new books, and the offending party is restored to a place of trust and favor...This far surpasses what mere forgiveness accomplishes alone."


The Ironies of Real Marriage ~ Heath Lambert
"I do not live in some sheltered ministry context away from people with perverse 
struggles. As true as that is, the Driscolls taught me a lot about pornography I wish I never knew. 
The Driscolls introduce their readers to the titles of pornographic books, magazines, and videos; 
they provide technical names for specific kinds of pornographic films; they list the names of celebrities who have starred in pornography; they even provide web addresses where readers can meet people for sex. As I look back on that sentence I am overwhelmed that a Christian minister could be so irresponsible."