How do you sum up years of work in about 2 minutes? — Learning Curve is a series tracing the experiences of debut author Sarah Stankorb, with insights into the steps between writing the manuscript and getting the book into readers’ hands. I’m about to publish my first book, Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful…

Learning Curve is a new series tracing the experiences of debut author Sarah Stankorb, with insights into the steps between writing the manuscript and getting the book into readers’ hands. I hadn’t accepted that my book was in its final form — in fact, I was still begging the production…

From SBC dumping Guidepost Solutions to the Tennessee Statehouse — Back when I was a college religion student, my Bible professor happened to be a Presbyterian minister. He was young, wore round-rimmed glasses and bow-ties, and nearly bounced on the balls of his feet as he revealed historical nuance within scripture. I remember him being particularly gleeful as he connected…

Amanda Held Opelt’s A Hole in the World Gave Me Space to Sit with Death — I was a few pages into Amanda Held Opelt’s A Hole in the World when I messaged another writer, recommending it. The same evening, I’d read my friend TaraShea Nesbit’s wrenching piece, for Granta. “Our daughter had been born one month early, unbreathing. …

When, in the name of Bathsheba, will it end? — The internet has offered many things: memes, stupid cat videos… a perennial debate over whether Bathsheba enticed King David into sex or if she was raped. Your standard social media blend may be slightly different than mine. …

On advocating for children, fighting the so-called “parental rights” movement, and teaching children when disobedience matters; an interview with R.L. Stollar — How does a person get from James Dobson’s Strong-Willed Child to child liberation theology? Well, spend enough time hearing from people whose families gobbled up various — and often damaging — guidance on child rearing, and maybe it’s natural to start hoping some of those kids learn to disobey the…

Reflecting on found family, Matilda, and gratitude for those who create environments of care — “This movie just breaks you,” my ten-year-old daughter said as we sat through the 2022 musical update of Matilda. It was not our first Matilda viewing. Certainly, not my first time welling up over one. “It’s Miss Honey,” I explained, a familiar lump in my throat over what would become…

Considering the parental allure of James Dobson’s worldview — When our son was a newborn, he had a floppy airway. That vital thing was just not yet fully formed and while he was fine and healthy enough to be released home, every once in a while in his sleep, if he inhaled sharply, the change in pressure would collapse…

A conversation with Sara Moslener, scholar of religion, gender, and racial discrimination. — Today over on In Polite Company I share a conversation with Sara Moslener, a lecturer at Central Michigan University, where she teaches the history of religion and racial discrimination in the United States. Moslener is also the author of Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence. Her current research, The…