Q & R: Any regrets?

Here’s the Q:

As a post-modern era writer about emerging Christianity, do you ever regret (or want to change) any portion of your earlier writings ?
I only ask because as a “recovering fundamentalist”, I am so influx that I haven’t found a place to “settle” yet.

Here’s the R:

Great question. Fortunately, I didn’t start writing until I was 40. By 40, I had turned some important corners. The situation would have been very different if I had started writing at 25!

I am sure there are some sentences I would frame differently. More importantly –

• I would have quoted more women and minority theologians (including queer theologians) earlier in my writing career. At the beginning, I was over-influenced by dead white men (and living ones too).
• I would have stopped using masculine pronouns for God earlier.
• I would have emphasized race, poverty, scapegoating the vulnerable, and environmental destruction earlier.
• I would have been less concerned about critique from Evangelical gatekeepers, who have shown themselves for who they are in the intervening years.

The good news is that I don’t think we ever fully “settle.” We’re called to follow Christ, to follow the lead of the Spirit, to walk the way of love … and that means being pilgrims and pioneers forever, not simply settlers. Thanks for your question!