Deb Conklin

I finally learned about forgiveness at age 36, when my husband, the father of our then 4-year-old son, and our daughter on the way, left me for a young student of his. In the process he said and did many hurtful things. And over the years, he continued to do and say hurtful things. At first, I simply lived in pain — deep, emotional and spiritual pain.

Hard and fast 'limits' strike me as lazy. We should assess something based on its individual merits, whether it's age to start/end being a pastor, qualifications for a position, age to get married or become a parent.

Earlier this week, I came across a post on The Christian Left’s Facebook page that raised the issue of ‘easy divorce.’ I was pleasantly surprised, as this is a topic that liberal/progressive Christians tend to avoid. It was not surprising that within less than two hours The Christian Left had apparently received so much push-back (in nearly 400 comments) that they posted a new status with some backpedaling.

There are situations in which a child becomes so out of control and dangerous to self or others that parents need to bring in some sort of help — even to the point of legal structures such as filing a Youth at Risk Petition.

If we are not preaching politics from the pulpit we are not preaching the gospel.

Religion cannot be categorized as good or bad.

Religion at its best offers spiritual community, guidance and inspiration.

Last week I had the privilege of being part of a progressive roundtable meeting with Senator Patty Murray and her staff. Murray listened to, and engaged with, 16 representatives from various local entities concerned about the sequester and other federal economic policy actions.