Diary of an Underachieving Churchgirl

"Mainstream Christianity in America has failed. It looks nothing like Jesus."  --Stephen Mattson This churchgirl knows a thing or two about not meeting the mark. Every Christian certainly underperforms in the things that Jesus excels at. In looking at the way He lived His earthly life, it's hard to reconcile our present-day western Christianity with 40-day fasts in the desert, show-downs with the Devil, spontaneous healings, dead people rising, walking on water, calming the sea, revolutionary teachings, and frequent seclusion in the wilderness to pray, let alone rolling out a movement that would change the world. But, underachieving is one thing. Failing is quite another. As long as there is Christ, His Church will not fail, because Christ never fails. Writing for "Sojourners" (https://sojo.net), Stephen Mattson does not mince words. His condemnation of the American church is as scathing as it is thorough. According to Mattson, our sins are many. ...

"I will sing to the LORD, for He has      triumphed gloriously;   He has thrown both horse and rider      into the sea!"  --Miriam the prophet God directed the exiting slaves to the Red Sea, as recorded in Exodus 14. They became trapped, with the Red Sea before them, the pursuing Egyptian army fast approaching behind. What would you do? What would I do? Most likely, we would despair, as the people did. There's no way out! Moses, the guy who convinced us to do this foolish thing, it's all his fault! But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the LORD rescue you. The Egyptians that you see today will never be seen again. The LORD Himself will fight for you. You won't have to lift a finger in your defense!" Moses knew God would make a way. And, He did. The sea split open, and they crossed on dry land. The Egyptians pursued, and the sea closed up. "When the people of...

I'm excited to write here my New Year Resolutions. I want to partner with God this year in my pursuit of Him in everything, so I have committed to a daily Bible reading plan. It's an app on my iPhone called "Read Scripture," produced by The Bible Project. If you don't know The Bible Project, check them out on YouTube. They are two guys-- Jon and Tim-- and their team of creators in Portland, Oregon. They make short, informational videos about each book of the Bible, and also theme videos. So, this daily reading app actually has the Bible text on it, so you don't have to drag your giant Bible around with you, you just need your phone. On the first day, for example, the app directed me to read Genesis 1-3 and a Psalm, and the reading was right there. Also, there were two videos to watch. One was a short overview of the book of Genesis, and one was a theme video on "the kingdom of God." There are not videos to watch every day, but every day has a porti...