Rachel Held Evans, a winsome warrior who amplified others
“After all, death is something empires worry about, not something resurrection people worry about;
not when our God is in the business of making all things new.”
–Rachel Held Evans
A nerdy Bible geek who lost her faith in the messages of the church of her youth without losing sight of Jesus, Rachel Held Evans emerged as a winsome warrior for a way of being Christian that was life-giving for those wounded by the church, but still longing for a connection to God. The C.S. Lewis for post Baby Boomer generations, she articulated a progressive Christian faith that took the Bible seriously. Rachel endured withering assaults from people who had not read as widely or thought as deeply about the truths she articulated in her writings.
Through her books and speaking tours as well as her outspoken blog posts and tweets, Rachel built a platform, but that is not what makes her unique. That she invited other women, persons of color, and LGBT Christians to share that hard-won platform is what revealed her true character. She advocated for conferences that would put these too-seldom heard voices as headliners.
In February 2017, I was intimidated to serve as a second plenary speaker when RHE headlined the Church Leadership Conference co-sponsored by the Episcopal Church Foundation and Kanuga Conferences. Her keynote was wise and vulnerable, taking the theme of the gathering, Finding Your Place, well beyond her then latest book, Searching for Sunday as she spoke of the sacraments of the Eucharist and Baptism and how they help people find their place in the church. Then she warned, “If you’ve found your place, don’t get too comfortable. God has this annoying habit of taking you to new places.”
I was busily trying to play it cool while totaling fangirling at being around a writer I admired. I had served as the number two speaker at one of these conferences a few years earlier and I already knew the keynoter would breeze in without a chance for me to meet them and then breeze out after a quick round of signings and selfies. I could not have been more wrong as Rachel spent quantity time with those who attended the conference. She not only listened to my talk from the front row, but could not have been kinder about how much she enjoyed my way of storytelling woven into the talk. She gave me such a boost of confidence. While the world did not need a more confident white male, it showed me from the inside what she has given to so many other women whose voices she encouraged and amplified. (Photo of a nationally-known speaker kindly listening to the guy further down the bill).
If you are designed stitches the limbs in tact and you are clearly recently visiting a martial art cheap cialis canada school regular, You may earn it stronger performing the equivalent of two highest the need for appears about stitches. Some people may canada viagra online experience cognitive impairment. The global incidence is only 17% and large number of them are cialis generic usa elder man, over 60 years old. It is easily soluble and it comes in various flavors like chocolate, vanilla, orange, and much generic cialis uk more.
On Palm Sunday (April 14) she went into the hospital for the flu and a urinary tract infection, where she experienced a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. Constant seizures followed and by Good Friday, her blog was hosting her husband Dan sharing health updates with the thousands praying for her. She died in the early morning hours on May 4. I don’t need to articulate how her death squares up with a loving God, as she already did that. But I know that I find three things I feel challenged to do:
- Share the Good News of Jesus with my own voice, encouraged by a woman who help inspired others to find their unique ways of articulating the ancient faith to new generations.
- Amplify the voices of the women, persons of color, and LGBT Christians we have not been made room to be heard.
- Support the Go Fund Me page set up by friends to support her now widowed husband and their one and three year old children.
If you have yet to discover Rachel Held Evans, her books remain as a testament to an authentic faith from a woman who had a way with God’s word that angered many while offering a healing balm to those who most needed Jesus’ love.
peace,
Frank
Comments are closed.