Nadia!

A few years back I read a book called Pastrix that I fell in love with. An edgy tattooed Lutheran pastor fell in love with God's message of grace and resisted the church she knew that only spoke of judgment. 

Last night she landed in Seattle on a 14 city book tour for her new book Accidental Saints. She wanted to name her book Purpose Driven Sinners but her publisher wouldn't let her. 

At First Baptist in Seattle she was welcomed by a packed church of young and old. 

She raffled tickets for $5 to win an old Christmas ornament, a DVD of a bad Christian movie, sheet music to the drummer boy, (as if there was a boy drumming in the manger) or a ham. It was really just for fun but the money raised went to support Mary's place, a Seattle city women and children's shelter.  We raised about $1900, the largest amount of any stop in her tour. 

Some of her lines from the night that I loved

--we have lost the plot if religion is the place we hide...it then becomes nothing more than spiritual candy crush. 

--too often church has become a place where we avoid and escape reality--Herod was trying to kill the innocents and we tiptoe around the murder of so many innocents in our society. 

-- institutions are often more interested in protecting their identity than living up to the vision of the institution. 

-- holy things we need are almost always the same as the ordinary things we need

-- church should be an hour a week when we don't have to pretend

-- asking can we pray honest prayers in church or just church prayers 

-- demons are only cast out through prayer 

--  the rapture is made up of bullshit (she was raised in the Church of God)

-- the manipulation of children and youth in vulnerable camp settings is a sin. 

-- Sin is the self curved in on the self, thus making ourselves our own God.

Of course she said a lot more and you may not agree with things she said but she is definitely worth a read for an honest and vulnerable view in faith. 

One older woman next to me raised her hand and said "I have lost my joy in going to church because I spend all of my time in committee meetings." Nadia answered--don't go anymore! She chastised "church" for exhausting people and families with the burden of meetings when people should be at home enjoying their families and friends. In her church there are no committees (there aren't in mine either) and she described a structure of working together and dreaming that is much more in line with faith and hope. 

It was a really energizing and fun night and made me miss ministry even more. I did feel so grateful for a thought provoking night out alone to think and process and listen.