Book Me to Speak at Your Next Gathering
Whether it's a group of 20 or 500, young or old, on zoom or in person, I'd love to be a part of your next event!
Qualifications
I hold a Master's of Divinity as well as Bachelor's Degrees in Intercultural Studies and Communication. I am also a trained spiritual director. Bonus: 8 years of competitive speech and debate in my past.
What does all of that mean? It means that I love studying the Bible. But I also love studying people--how we communicate, learn, interact, and grow. While I may spend an afternoon researching a single word in a passage of Scripture, I always want my academic life to have practical applications. Especially in spiritual teaching, information needs to be profound, but useful and digestable to a wide audience.
I am a student of culture. I'm a girl from Kansas who has spent the past five years building bridges between the Muslim and Christian communities of the Bay Area. Currently residing overseas.
I love variety. Although I may love listening to myself, your audience may not. In any presentation, I aspire to have some interactive elements, some stories, and some scholarship.
I'm entertaining. Humor is a part of who I am. Tired of old white men with their poorly made power points? I'll bring some fun.
Topics of Interest
Spiritual Direction
I grew up and was trained in an evangelical background. Spiritual direction was seen as a strange practice in my tradition. I've learned a lot about the vitality spiritual direction can bring to traditional spirituality. I would love to share more about that experience.
Contextualizing Theology
Big words: Simple meaning: How do we do spiritual life in a variety of contexts?
If you're looking for someone to talk about how to be an authentic Christian in a variety of challenging contexts, I want to be part of that conversation!
Building Bridges Between the Muslim and Christian Communities
I've been interacting within and between these two communities for much of my adult life. I've got a lot of stories, a lot of failures, and a lot of beauty to share about these times. I want to help people interact and understand each other better.
The Narrative of 1 Corinthians
The book of 1 Corinthians starts with the cross and ends with the resurrection, with a lot of things to die to in the middle. I love this letter and love making it come alive to people through teaching the structure and historical/cultural background.
Women in Ministry
I'm a woman with an M.Div. from a Southern Baptist school. Obviously this is a very personal topic for me. I've often been under leadership who did not affirm my callings to teach. So I bring personal experience and academic research to the table.
"If we must have perfection to be happy with ourselves, we have only two choices. We can either blind ourselves to our own evil (and deny the weeds) or we can give up in discouragement (and deny the wheat). But if we put aside perfection and face the tension of having both, then we can hear the good news with open hearts. It takes uncommon humility to carry the dark side of things. It takes a kind of courage to carry the good side, too. Archetypically, “the crucified one” always hangs between these two thieves — paying the price within himself just as we must do."
Richard Rohr
Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer