Reclamation Faith

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Reclamation Faith

Reclamation is all about helping spiritually displaced people reclaim their role in God's story. (new episodes drop Tuesdays!!)

This project explores, through conversation and storytelling, faith on the margins of or completely removed from traditional religious institutions. Check out our podcast Reclamation Faith wherever you get your pods!

05/09/2022

We’re getting ready to leave on a big trip to the West Coast, but thought we’d drop this little reminder before we go!

Too often, shaming tactics are employed by Christians, because these keep people dependent upon the faith community for absolution. Graceless approaches to human brokenness are undoubtedly effective in controlling others.

However, Jesus did the opposite. Did he ignore human brokenness? Nope. But the story never ended there; hope, restoration, and an affirmation of human worth were always the endgame.

You are not a wretch. You are not worthless. You are not dirty.

Your story matters; you’re a masterpiece in motion.

05/07/2022

We haven’t done an introduction post for a bit, and there are quite a few new folks here, so thought we’d say hi (👋)and let people know what we’re about:

Hey! We are Alison and Josh, Baltimore-based married folks behind Reclamation Faith. We are both in full-time ministry, but also both feel that it’s a crucial time to walk beside people feeling displaced from the Christian faith, and encourage/affirm people for whom institutional Christianity is no longer a viable option. (That might seem like a weird juxtaposition, but it makes sense to us!)

Reclamation is about helping spiritually displaced reclaim their role in God’s story. We feel much of the narrative of God and Jesus has been co-opted by Western Evangelicalism, individualism, nationalism, white supremacy, fundamentalism, and so forth.

People are reeling, justifiably burned, and losing faith in churches as safe communities (with good reason). We want to reclaim and reframe the Story, take a critical look at contemporary faith issues, and affirm a universal and wholly accepting gospel story with love and joy and wholeness at the center.

We aren’t trying to get anyone to return to what has been left, or dictate what should or shouldn’t be believed. We don’t want to set ourselves up as authorities or arbiters of “truth.” We’re not trying to make money. We simply want to offer our thoughts, educational backgrounds, experiences and hearts. We hope you’ll join in, because this is all better done together..rather than alone!

So follow along, listen to our podcast, leave a comment, or shoot us a message. We’d love to be welcomed into your story.

05/03/2022

I’m our latest podcast, one thing we discussed was how an “atrophied theological imagination” is negatively impacting faith today.

So many of us don’t even realize that what we consider the whole of the Christian faith and tradition is actually just a tiny fragment of what has been explored and suggested.

So many don’t realize or ever hear about the incredible contributions to theology from traditionally underrepresented communities.

The majority of “sound doctrine” and “biblical truth” today is actually only recent views of a minority of the world’s Christians, namely the views of white men from places of institutional power.

“Our theological imagination hasn’t been given room to grow and build in a way that is transformative for us and for the world…There is more to this story.”

There is so much more.

05/01/2022

What if pastoring was simply walking besides people as they looked for nourishment, committed to protecting them from harm? 🤷‍♂️

Sounds crazy, I know.

04/27/2022

Alison said this in our last podcast episode and it’s stuck with me. It’s simple, but so indicative of how far we’ve strayed from the vision of Jesus that this even needs clarification!

Jesus didn’t die to give us beliefs; he died so that we might live. That we might pursue life and love and liberation for our world through his life.

Christianity offers a belief system, sure. But let’s not forget that a belief system that doesn’t result in a changed life system is hollow.

We are so grateful for a God that gives his
whole self to us. Grant us the grace to respond with our whole selves too.

04/26/2022

We’ve been extra quiet around here lately. Quietness stemming from exhaustion, really. Alison and I both work full-time for churches*, which means we had two holy weeks worth of services, logistics, and calendar commitments. Holy Week is rough on ministers, and we’re slowly recovering.

Honestly though, I think on a deeper level I’ve been feeling a bit desolate. Wondering if this work is worth it. The social media echo chamber can feel pretty loud sometimes, the rampant hot takes, the snark, the indignation, the flash-in-a-pan posts that make the rounds without making much lasting impact. Everyone promoting their own personal brand. Podcast episodes go out into the ether and…silence, hoping it’s effecting change or inspiring hope but not really knowing. It can all make one feel uninspired and unmotivated.

(Plus, who has TIME for, like, anything?)

I’m committed to this work; my soul craves it. But doubt, frustration, writer’s block, overcommitment, and fear of failure keep me from really leaning in. Does anyone feel that?

We’re so often told that simply finding something we’re passionate about will give us boundless energy and inspire us to joyful and ceaseless action. But that’s not always the truth.

I’m finding that in faith and in the pursuit of reclamation and reform, I need to lean into hope. Hope isn’t always a catchy trend on social media. It doesn’t always catalyze bomb posts. It often leads us to quietness and detachment. It’s crazy difficult to find some days. But it sustains.

And I hope you can be sustained as well, because this is a lonely journey sometimes. And we’re here for you.

Thanks for reading my novel.

*Yes, we recognize the weirdness of a married couple both working for churches who run a joint account about deconstruction and encouraging people it’s okay not to be in church. We’re at peace with the oddity of our situation…and grateful for our congregations that fully cheer on our work.

03/25/2022

Feels like a relevant time to repost this question, what with everything going on regarding Hillsong and so so many others.

We need to reevaluate our models of Kingdom “success” and institutional church culture.

Maybe deconstruction is the refinement Christian community desperately needs.

03/23/2022

When religious institutions become more valued than individuals, the result is spiritual death. We see evidence of this everywhere.

Ironically, an individualistic gospel fuels this system of harm against individual persons. If the whole gospel story is “your personal relationship” with God, then the church can only exist to produce more and more individual success stories.

The church becomes a factory or a corporation, and the people who are hurt, who question the system, who represent its failings, are seen as threats to the institution.

If we are to truly value people, all people, we need a holistic theology.

Embodied and personal faith.
Corporate and incarnational faith.
Global, just, and restorative faith.

Only when we broaden our view of the Kingdom can we truly value all stories, hear all voices, and break cycles of religious harm.

03/15/2022

Jesus humanizes and cherishes those whom others seek to blame. The Samaritan woman at the well, the lost sheep, the woman caught in adultery, Zacchaeus, and many others.

He also confronts the powerful and the religious leaders who abuse their positions.

Why do we see so many Christians doing the exact opposite of these things? How do we cherish the powerful and confront the rejected with further silencing, while claiming it’s for the “good of the gospel”?

When the church or Christian institutions hide abuses, silence victims, and weaponize the practice of secrecy to uphold power and influence, it is directly at odds with the approach of Christ.

02/27/2022

The story we see over and over: the love of power clashing with the power of love.

I do believe there’s love in the resistance we see in Ukraine, even if violence is not the heart of God. Love of country, love of neighbors, love of freedom. They didn’t ask for this war; it came because of the misaligned role of power in the world.

How do we reconcile the world we see with the God we proclaim? Part of that challenge is seeing God present in weakness, embracing it and walking in it.

Love did that.
God chose that.

It’s the upside down kingdom that never ceases to amaze me. The foolishness of resurrection hope.

I’m still struggling with what I’m seeing in the news and in our own country as well. But I’m going to keep hoping in the weak and “powerless”, and trusting the story isn’t over yet.

02/25/2022

Help us remember.

02/24/2022

Are our tears prayers? Our confusion? Our anger? Our shouts and jeremiads? Groans words cannot express?

Yes, yes, yes.

I feel an acute pressure when big global issues arise to respond with flowery words and perfect petitions. But honestly, inside I just feel overwhelmed.

Maybe that’s the best way to connect to God, who I imagine may also be consumed with grief when empires and madmen pursue violence as validation.

May we all be praying for Ukraine and our broken world, in whatever form that looks like for you. 🇺🇦

Address

Baltimore, MD

Website

http://reclamationfaith.com/

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