Sarah B Anderson

Losing Our Way

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | May 25, 2018 | Culture, Faith, Ministry, Personal Growth | 0

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was required reading for me in high school. In addition to reading the book, we watched the movie and I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t emotionally scarred from some of the scenes in both the novel and the movie and the imprint they left on my mind. The point of the book, it seemed to me at the time, was how quickly humanity digresses into chaos when a lack of structure and civility and law and order is in place. It also seemed to portray in startling clarity the deeply...

The Emperor’s New Clothes: A Cautionary Tale for Southern Baptists and Church Leaders

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | May 8, 2018 | Culture, Faith, Ministry | 0

There’s that story by famed fairy tale writer, Hans Christian Anderson, about an emperor and two weavers chosen to make the ruler a new pair of clothes. The clothes, the emperor is told by the weavers, will be invisible to those who are incompetent, foolish, and unsuitable for their positions in the kingdom. In actuality, there are no clothes at all. The weavers haven’t made any. But no one in the kingdom has the courage to say something, for fear of being disgraced. No one wants to be the person to state what seems excruciatingly obvious. That the emperor...

How To Talk About Faith When You Aren’t So Sure Yourself

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Apr 19, 2018 | Faith, Parenting, Personal Growth | 0

In the Jewish tradition, when someone is named, it’s believed that the essence of who that person is, is being named and drawn out. It’s why Adam’s name is a play on the Hebrew word for Earth, having been made from the dust of the Earth, and why Abram, a name meaning exalted father, is changed to Abraham, meaning a father of a multitude, after God tells him of the descendents he’ll have outnumbering the stars in the sky. I’m not Jewish, but I’ve always liked this idea, and when it came time to name my own two boys,...

Why I (kinda) Get Judas

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Mar 28, 2018 | Faith, Personal Growth | 0

A few days ago, in preparation for the start of the Holy Week and the arrival of Easter, I read the story told in John 12, of Jesus being in Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, six days before the start of Passover. The story takes place at the beginning of Holy Week marking the slow descent to Golgatha where Jesus knows what waits for Him, where it’s just a matter of time before the crowds’ approval turns. With all of this on His mind, Jesus is sitting at the table eating a meal with His friends,...

12 Years In: How Marriage Is [And Isn’t] What I Thought It Would Be

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Mar 8, 2018 | Marriage, Personal Growth | 0

In the classic romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally, at the end, after decades of bad relationships and bad timing and bad breakups when Harry chases down Sally at a New Year’s Eve party and they finally realize they belong together, Harry says: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible.” * * * We took pictures together before our wedding ceremony. I realize that bucks against tradition a little bit. That there is something about that moment when the...