We're talking about hope, Biblical hope. I probably need to start by telling you what hope isn't and then what it is. Biblical hope isn't about our circumstance, nor is it about having some Pollyanna optimistic attitude. In the Scriptures, we see that hope is about expectantly waiting and many times waiting a really long time.

In this episode, I want to share a little bit about my journey around this idea of hope. You know, after the election in 2016, my male church leaders went radio silent about the sexual exploitation of women by our newly elected president, and I was deeply disappointed. I even felt betrayed. I understood that the Evangelical support was primarily due to this abortion issue, but I just kept thinking, "you can't have a say over my womb, not give a damn about my body being groped or raped," that just isn't gonna work for me.

I found over that year and then moving into the #metoo movement and into the #churchtoo movement that something was happening to my hope.

I’m older, and I’m looking back in my rearview mirror, where I see a more wrinkled faith what. I thought in my younger years, you know this escalator theology that would always go onward and upward, well we’re throwing stinking thinking out the window. 

In this 5 part series, we’re going to look into the concepts of faith, hope, love, and lament.

I have to be honest with you; it looks different for me now. Some of the things I used to believe I don’t any longer, and I’m trying to figure out the complexities of how to love a mentally ill family member or hold on to hope when sexism continues to rain, not only in the culture but in our churches.

Issues have gotten more complex and more nuanced, so what we’re gonna do is we’re going to look back on these issues faith hope & love with a whole lot of wrinkles.