**Content warning: this post contains discussions of sexual violence** Most people who have grown up in the church are familiar … Continue reading The Sword and the Stoning: Toward a Liberative Reading of John 8
On Tuesday, May 21, 2019, a group of individuals calling themselves the Magdalene Collective published a lengthy statement with the … Continue reading Patterns
On December 12, 2018, several persons who had formerly held positions of leadership within Ezer Rising brought allegations that the … Continue reading Receipts on The Ezer Rising Story
On December 12, 2018, I reported that several former members of the leadership and admin teams of the self-described Egalitarian … Continue reading Examining a Defense of Ezer Rising
A couple months ago, I was sitting down to dinner with a friend, Tabi, when the conversation turned an abusive … Continue reading Former Ezer Rizing Team Members Speak Out
As many who follow me on social media know, I’ve been navigating quite a bit of loss and trauma in … Continue reading Parenting Interview on Bad Ass Dadcast
Nate Sparks nate.sparks130[at]gmail[dot]com natesparks130.com Council Members Tim Keller, Don Carson, John Piper, et al. The Gospel Coalition thegospelcoalition.org To … Continue reading Injustice Ignored: an Open Letter to The Gospel Coalition
On Friday, December 9, 2016, I had quite the troubling exchange with blogger Frank Turk, a regular contributor to Phil … Continue reading Rhetorical Questions: Frank Turk
Today, December 8, 2016, the board of directors of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) issued a … Continue reading GRACE Issues Statement on Tullian Tchividjian and Abuse in the Church
Today, 12/5/2016, eight pastors and leaders, who self-identified as friends of Tullian Tchividjian, issued the following statement: Dear Friends: We … Continue reading Several More Pastors and Leaders Call Tullian Tchividjian to Repent
**Content Editor: Lauren R.E. Larkin** As my reader is likely aware, on November 23, 2016, Tullian Tchividjian issued a public … Continue reading Apology and Abuse
Today, December 2, 2016, my good friends Lauren Larkin (who served as content editor for my survivor narratives) and Sarah Taras … Continue reading Law, Gospel, and Tullian Tchividjian (a Conversation with Ezer Uncaged)
At approximately 8:30 PM on Thursday, December 1, 2016, the following statement from Pastor Kevin Labby – on behalf of … Continue reading Pastor Kevin Labby Calls Tullian Tchividjian to Repentance
**Content Editor: Lauren R.E. Larkin** In the last post, I introduced the reader to Lisa. Lisa allows me to tell … Continue reading Master of Manipulation
**Content Editor: Lauren R.E. Larkin** In my last post, I critically analyzed the recent public statements by Tullian Tchividjian. I … Continue reading Do Unto Others…
**Content Editor: Lauren R.E. Larkin** On September 27, 2016, Tullian Tchividjian published a post on the Expastors website on September … Continue reading An Expastor’s Ego
A Facebook friend, Taffy Hunter Matheson, recently contacted me to ask that I watch a video on the Facebook page … Continue reading Blame
Anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook is by now familiar with my saying: Everyone is polite and rational … Continue reading Confessions: Anti-LGBT Rhetoric and the Dynamics of Abuse in Evangelical Christianity
Recently, Ed Stetzer tweeted the following: My initial reaction to this tweet was a mixture of emotions, but it all … Continue reading After Evangelicalism
On July 28, 2016, Wayne Grudem declared his unequivocal support for Donald Trump. In doing so, he argued that anyone … Continue reading The Ego and the Evangelical
C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity[1], written over 50 years ago, remains one of the most popular and influential texts … Continue reading Father, Forgive Us
Before I begin today’s post, I want to take a moment to wish all my US based readers a Happy … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (7/1/16)
In July, 2012, Saeed Abedini, a pastor and missionary living in the United States, was visiting his family in Tehran, … Continue reading The Abused and the Persecuted
This has been an interesting week in the Sparks family. My son (6) officially became the first of our kids … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (6/24/16)
This has been a difficult week for so many. Though there have been a number of amazing posts written this … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (6/17/16) **Updated
As I have read Emerson Eggerichs book Love and Respect, I have offered arguments regarding the trustworthiness of this book. … Continue reading Love, Respect, and Science
As several have pointed out to me, it has been a few weeks since I put out a GBU post. Life … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (6/10/16)
Emerson Eggerichs’ book Love and Respect is, in my opinion, a dangerous and damaging book.[1] In essence, the entire premise … Continue reading Love, Respect, and Consent
Several years ago, Sarah received the book Love and Respect, by Emerson Eggerichs,[1] as a Christmas present. At the time, … Continue reading Love, Respect, and Proof-Texts
On April 21, 2016, the provost and executive vice president of Westminster Theological Seminary, Jeffrey K. Jue, wrote of his … Continue reading 5 Reasons Not to Support New Calvinism
I’m excited to have written a guest post for Cindy Wang Brandt’s site Unfundamentalist Parenting. Here is an excerpt: John … Continue reading Guest Post for Cindy Wang Brandt
Yesterday, my friend and fellow blogger Ashley Easter published a bold and admirable post. Ashley chose to detail the grooming … Continue reading Ashley Easter Tells Her Story of Being Sexually Preyed Upon by Rick Boyer, Sr.
Darrin, Hello, my name is Nate Sparks. You may or may not know me. While it is honestly of no … Continue reading A Letter of Encouragement to Darrin Patrick
This has been a long week. Sarah has been sick and we will be moving in two weeks. Stress is … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (4/9/2016)
**This post was updated on 4/8/2016. Added content is marked with the following symbol ° ** Melissa Kruger recently wrote … Continue reading Diversion: a Response to Melissa Kruger
Dear Thabiti, I’m not sure if you remember me. As part of an open letter to the council of The … Continue reading Silence: an Open Letter to Thabiti Anyabwile
I take no pleasure in seeing a pastor fall into public disgrace. However great the ideological differences, these men are … Continue reading The Lies and the Least
This has been a truly amazing week in the blogosphere. There have been so many excellent articles and, to be … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (3/18/16)
I want to welcome you to this week’s day late “special Saturday edition” of The Good, the Bad, and The … Continue reading The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (3/12/2016)
Dr. Ruth Tucker has written a new book, Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife. I have already written … Continue reading A Q&A with Dr. Ruth Tucker
This is a review of Dr. Ruth Tucker’s new book: Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife. Continue reading Abusive Headship: a Review of Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife
As my blog grows, I find that I come across a lot of excellent resources that I’d like to share … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (2/19/16)
As some of you may know, I recently sent an open letter to the TGC (here). Within that post, I … Continue reading A Controversy of Propriety
This post represents an open letter to the council members of The Gospel Coalition. It was posted to the TGC contact page at 12:30 AM on 1/31/2016.
I invite you to read this letter and judge my thesis for yourself. Continue reading Injustice: an Open Letter to The Gospel Coalition
A thank you letter to the Evangelical Church Continue reading Privileged: An Open Letter to Evangelicals
Sparking Conversation 