I was a guest this week on the Christ and Pop Culture podcast, #The25. I discuss Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 13th on race and mass incarceration. #The25 is a great show, hope you'll take a listen!
13th and The 25 - Podcast Discussion
Human-Aminal Chimeras: Kramer’s Pigman Might Be Coming to a Lab Near You
The National Institutes of Health is looking to fund research that infuses human stem cells into early animal embryos, creating a human-animal organism known as a chimera, a being composed of two or more genetically distinct species. The decision prompts many questions: for one, "what are we doing by mixing the traits of two species? What makes us human? Is it having 51 percent human cells?"
We cannot be unsure regarding the question of humanity. God distinguishes man and woman from all creation with the gift of His image. And it is the weight of that gift that defines our distinct dignity as human beings. How then do we engage with the possibility of part-human, part-animal lifeforms?
I'm grateful to tackle this topic at Christ and Pop Culture. And I'm always grateful for your read and thoughts.
A Donald Trump Presidency and John 18
The cross of Jesus stands unmoved today and will not be shaken on January 20th. That cross is my confidence. Whatever a Trump presidency might bring, God still works all things according to the council of His own will (Ephesians 1:11). And if God ordered the affairs of cunning leaders in the first century for the sake of our salvation than He is able to order the events of any government to fulfill His good and ultimate purposes.
Evangelism, What do I say? - A Summary of the Gospel of Christ
To evangelize is to share the message of the gospel. Our acts of service and mercy glorify God and are encouraged by Scripture (see James 1:27). Yet simply serving another is not evangelism. Evangelism requires words. It necessitates a message. And in truth, many of us do not always know what to say. What is the gospel? How does the Bible define it? Let’s look now at the below four-point-summary; I hope the following proves helpful as we seek to faithfully share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others!
Finding Our Hopefuls When Caught by Giant Despair
It’s fascinating here to consider Gethsemane. Jesus’ soul was sorrowful to the point of death. He retreats—but not alone. He takes three friends with Him, and His request is that they remain awake and pray with Him. If the sinless Savior desired community in a time of suffering, how much more do we need friends? And surely this includes our pastors, elders, small group leaders, and those we tend to elevate and distance as more spiritual.
As a member of a church staff and a teacher of women, I have never stayed in Doubting Castle (to say so would be to minimize the torture of those who have), but I have strolled its grounds. I have known sudden and unexpected sadness, and my heart has pounded from the ache of anxiety. In these moments, I long for my Hopeful, a fellow pilgrim who will love me at my best and at my worst. A friend with whom I can be vulnerable and weak and not fear, because their love for me rests on the work of Someone greater than I. I’m thankful to share this level of candor with my husband but my soul yearns for more. I’m praying for friends who will receive me in my imperfection, knowing that another Person has been perfect on my behalf.
Read full article at Christ and Pop Culture.
Do racial issues really “disappear” because of the Gospel? A response to John MacArthur.
MacArthur is valiant for the truth. As a younger preacher, he was among the 334 evangelical leaders who gathered in Chicago in 1978 to formulate the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Just a decade into his pastorate, MacArthur joined luminaries including J. I. Packer, Francis Schaeffer, and R. C. Sproul to defend Biblical inerrancy against liberalism’s assaults. Since then, he has remained steadfastly orthodox in his passion for the Scriptures. I’m thankful to say that my own theological formation has benefited greatly from his confident preaching.
So when The Master’s Seminary — of which MacArthur is president — released a YouTube video titled “Racism and Black Lives Matter” on July 8, 2016, I expected a strong application of the Gospel to today’s polarizing racial issues. What I heard instead was disappointing.
Read the full article at Christ and Pop Culture
Happy Single Parent Day: The Dynamics of Parenting Alone
My mother and father never married. I spent the first seven years of my life with my aunt, a single mother. I’ll spare you the details of my story and will simply say that I know what it’s like to yearn for a parent. I’ve tasted the bitterness that often hangs around a broken home. I’ve lingered near a weary mother, wishing I could share the load.
After Childhood Abuse, How Can I Trust Others with My Kids?
My first day watching porn was also my last. I was nine when an adult neighbor took me to a house where several of her friends were gathered. The men and women came knowing the agenda—to watch hours of pornographic videos. I was placed on a man’s lap, and the tapes were played. At one point, my neighbor asked if I “felt” anything. I said no, and the group laughed.
I remember the day now as the end of something immeasurably precious—the gift of being innocent and unashamed. I’ve often mourned for my nine-year-old self, her soul plundered and her naiveté stripped. I grieve for her and fear for my two small daughters. What images (and God forbid, touches) might be lurking, waiting to take their innocence? God help us.
Read the full article at Christianity Today.
Teaching Children the Bible - Gospel-Centered Resources that Help
As Christian parents instruct their children in godliness -- our prayer is for their spiritual conversion and not just their good behavior. And because the gospel is the power of God onto salvation, we teach the Bible primarily to show them God's redemption of sinners through the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16).
Elizabeth: Silence Gives Way to Songs
Zechariah used a writing tablet for communication for nine months (Luke 1:63). Elizabeth must have longed for her husband’s voice in these months. Her first and second trimesters were spent in hiding (Luke 1:24). These must have been quiet months for the expectant mother. A picture, perhaps, of Israel’s own 400 years of waiting in silence for the fulfillment of God’s promises.
Bringing the Prairie to the Hood
I'm excited to write an article for Christ and Pop Culture on the "anomaly" of watching Little House on the Prairie in Southeast Washington DC. A paragraph is below and the full article is HERE. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!
I live in Southeast Washington, D.C., where the population is 94% black. Watching Little House in “the hood” is a bit of an anomaly. In fact, with the exception of my husband and three others, I can’t name another black person who would be excited to watch the show. One friend told me that she would watch only if forced. People in our D.C. church laugh when we speak of our love for the program–they assume it’s a joke. Their looks become a mixture of surprise and amusement when we persist in our praise of the series.
An Overview of the Whole Bible by Dr. D.A. Carson
The Bible is no ordinary book--66 books written by 40 different authors spanning the course of some 2,000 years! There is no book like the Bible. What other work can claim the very inspiration of God? In the Bible, we have the Word of God! My hope then is to sing along with the psalmist, “Oh how I love your [word]” (Psalm 119:97)! I want to know it well. And to know the Bible well is to understand the “big picture” story of God’s glorious redemption as it unfolds through the full canon of Scripture. Let’s listen as Dr. D.A. Carson gives a helpful 34 minute overview of the whole Bible. I found it helpful and enjoyable and hope you do too!
Gomer: Praises to the God who Redeems an Adulteress
Whether a prostitute before her marriage to Hosea or after, Gomer left her marriage bed to chase her lovers (Hos. 2:5). She became estranged from her husband at some point and was sold into slavery. Here, God commanded Hosea: “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods.” (Hos. 3:1). Hosea obeyed, he found his wife on sale, he purchased her for fifteen shekels of silver and some bushels of barley. And he said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you” (Hos. 3:2-3). The book of Hosea ends with the hope of redemption.
Confessions of a (Sinful) Overachiever
Grateful for the chance to write for Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog. Paragraphs from the piece are below and the full article is found here. Thank you for reading!
My practice of faith, like most things in my life, is sustained by a propensity for difficult work. I’m a hard driver, often choosing the coarse road. As a mother, I give birth without epidural, nurse for fourteen-months, make my own baby food, homeschool my little ones—all the while working part-time and teaching small groups. It’s admirable—if not for the pesky tendency to pride myself by the praise of these efforts.
Proverbs 31: What Does Context Say About the Woman Who Fears the Lord?
We tend to approach Proverbs 31:10-31 as a recipe to be tried and tested. And as done with most recipe books, we dog-ear and separate favorite pages from the rest. But Proverbs 31:10-31 is not a “formula” for biblical womanhood. The verses are God-breathed Scripture—profitable for our teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). For this reason, we do well to study the passage within its context. Proverbs 31:10-31 follows thirty chapters within the book of Proverbs: how do these preceding verses help us to understand this excellent wife? And how can a contextual view of the text shape our own desire for godly femininity?
The Shunammite Woman and Greatest of all Rewards
The woman who struggles to take hold of God’s promise now grips the feet of God’s prophet in thanksgiving. I’m reminded here of Abraham who, when given a son through the deadness of Sarah’s womb, believed that God could raise even the dead (Hebrews 11:19). Yes, God gives His children good gifts. Yet His blessings are always meant to offer more than mere provision--they are given to reveal more of Him to us. And that is by far the greatest reward of all!
‘The Cosby Show': Black Image and Respectable Idols
At some point, The Cosby Show became more than a sitcom; it morphed into a barometer with which to measure success for blacks. But perhaps that was its intention from the beginning. When network executives Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner first pitched the idea of the sitcom to NBC, Cliff Huxtable was a limousine-driving father with a stay-at-home wife and four school-aged children. But before the pilot was shot, Cosby had painted a striking new mural for producers.
Prayer and the Fellowship of Believers- Lessons from a Widow and Her Oil
The widow had nothing but a single jar of oil. Elisha tells her to borrow many vessels from her neighbors. Her jar of oil would miraculously multiply as she poured it into each vessel. God’s means of provision for this woman sends her to many doors on that day—the more she knocked on, the more vessels she would receive. The more vessels she borrowed, the more oil she would have for her son’s freedom and for their livelihood (2 Kings 4: 2-7).
The Widow of Zarephath: Chosen by Glorious Grace
Why is Elijah sent to this widow? She was not among the people of Israel and she herself testifies of her sins. Clearly, she doesn’t choose God but He chooses her (John 15:16). He saves her just as He has and will redeem all those He has predestined for adoption as children through Jesus Christ; this is according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His own glorious grace (Ephesians 1:5-11)! Salvation is of the LORD.
Why I Love My Husband
On August 2, 2008, I stood before God and witnesses and made a vow of love, honor and fidelity to Eric J. Dolce. I was certain of the LORD’s hand in the union. My husband and I marveled as a rainbow appeared over our reception. Indeed, God's promises for us in Christ have been “Yes and Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20)!
Today marks seven years since that day. The years have passed quickly but my love for my husband has not. In truth, I adore him now more than ever…and here’s why: