I recently reviewed a wonderful article, “A liberation theology for single people,” by Christena Cleveland. It was refreshing to read such an encouraging blog by a single pastor and professor and I thought it was worth sharing some of my thoughts. Christena started by sharing a story of a distraught student whose worst nightmare was […]
Author: Steph Penny
More than a Single Reason
Charlie Grantham’s article “Three reasons singleness should be praised” describes some interesting advantages to the single life. The reasons expounded by Charlie deal with singleness being a calling, a gift, and a provider of unique opportunities. These and other points touched on in Charlie’s article are worth a response. Charlie suggests that marriage has become […]
What Lies Beneath
I recently read an article on the lies that society feeds us about singleness. Writer Natalie Floyd took the time to explore “Three lies culture tells us about being single” and while there may be more than three lies out there, I thought the three she selected were worth further unpacking. Natalie spoke of the […]
Rethinking Singleness
At last, a breath of fresh air. In this weeks’ article review we have a single pastor commenting on the Church’s perception of singles. I found the article refreshingly honest and yet gracious, hence worthy of a response. The author Karina Kreminski addresses “8 ways to rethink the conversation about singleness” and I would like […]
Oh, for Single’s Sake: A Response
I recently read an article entitled “Oh, for Single’s Sake,” written by a girl called Tamara. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to blog a response. The author of this article makes several great points about singleness that are worth touching on. The first point is about our assumptions regarding marriage. I have […]
Single File
Last week a woman asked me, “What would you say to a single person who was frustrated with being single? If they wanted to know what to do, what would you say?” My response was, “I would recommend they buy my book, Surviving Singledom.” Shameless sales pitch aside, the reason why I wrote a book […]
Going deeper into Lord of the Oceans
The sermon of the coracle was not the only inspiration behind this song. My writing was also influenced by an old prayer known as the Lorica by St Patrick. There are a few songs – old and new – based on this prayer, including “Christ As A Light” by Ryan Flanigan and “Christ Be All […]
Beneath Lord of the Oceans
It was a Sunday night. We were all snugly wrapped up within the walls of our church. Happily we celebrated the accomplishment of our student minister who had recently graduated to “Reverend”. Funny stories were told and fond memories shared. Then the guest speaker rose to preach. It was Michael Frost, a lecturer at the […]
Lord of the Oceans
This song is intended to be a call and a challenge to the modern Church. In contrast to many contemporary songs out there, including Christian ones, this song is not about feeling good, safe, secure or even close to God. I don’t even know if you can technically call it a praise or worship song. […]
Ethics: Conclusions
“First, do no harm.” A young Christian lady involved in her church worship ministry has a creative idea for training and development for the ministry team. She puts together a proposal for a training program and submits it for consideration. She is told that her program will not be used but she is not told […]