God Can't

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Third Sunday in Lent

Georgi Persons (she/her)

Founder, Jenna’s Kindness Hearts and LoveJennaP

Allied Christian

[Content Warning: Suicide]

I was raised on a farm in one of the corners of Iowa, attending a tiny Baptist church at least 3 times a week during my childhood. As I became an adult and wandered deeper into evangelicalism, I thought God could do anything. When my oldest came out as transgender, suddenly God seemed to be holding each one of my deeply held beliefs up for inspection. And while I assumed doubting Him would weaken my faith, I found my faith becoming stronger, because God had blown apart the box I had Him in. He opened my eyes to the beautiful rainbow of His creation. I found myself changing my mind, and God just seemed even bigger and more amazing.

But. There’s always a but, isn’t there? Then our youngest, our amazing 21-year-old daughter, died by suicide. In fact, she died the day after attending Bible study with me. And suddenly the doubts were back and my faith was failing. God could do anything, couldn’t He? Then why didn’t He choose to save her? There were a million ways He could have prevented this. Why did He, in my eyes, do nothing?

What I’m finding is I need to go a lot deeper into what I believe – again. When I think about the phrase “God is love”, what exactly does that mean? What is love? If God cannot deny Himself, and is always faithful, how does that coexist with the evil that happens in this world? Love can’t want evil to occur, yet it does. Does that mean God can’t stop it, or won't?  I have always believed that a good God could, but if he can't, that's not the same as won't.  I can't believe in a God that won't.

I don’t have the answers – yet. I still believe that someday I will be reunited with my daughter, and all my questions will be answered. Until then, I will continue to question, to probe, and to ponder what I believe. And to keep hoping.

Press Release - Court Strikes Down Parts of Ohio's Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 19, 2025

LOVEboldly celebrates Ohio's Tenth Court of Appeals (Franklin County) in striking down two parts of the lower court's ruling in a case opposing HB68, the ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the State of Ohio. Specifically, the ruling strikes down sections banning the provision of gender-affirming care for minors.

The ruling, however, maintains the ban on the participation of Transgender girls and women in women's interscholastic sports.

While Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has already indicated that his office will appeal the decision, LOVEboldly takes this moment as one of hope and strength in a time when the attacks against the LGBTQIA+ community increase in intensity every day.

Speaking on HB68 in July 2024, doctors and parents roundly noted that it "[denies] basic human rights." As a Christian organization that believes that each person bears the image of God, LOVEboldly reminds the Ohio community that HB68 fundamentally denies the imago Dei in each person. Legislation like HB68 is not only an assault on humans; it is an assault on God. We must oppose all legislation that aims to harm human flourishing.

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This statement may be attributed to LOVEboldly's Executive Director, the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp.

Disabilities, Part 5

March 17, 2025

Happy Monday, my friends! Today, we return to our series on disability, and I want to focus on the built environment, the human-made infrastructure that defines the ways in which humans use different spaces. Particularly, I want to discuss the ways in which humans design inclusion and exclusion into what they build. There are obvious examples of design being used to exclude people such as the labeling of water fountains and bathrooms based on racial identity during the days of Jim Crow laws. The same continues today—as we saw recently at the University of Cincinnati—in labeling certain bathrooms for “biological women” or “biological men.” However, designed exclusion is often more covert. Think about the built environment of your community. What can you think of that promotes inclusion or obviously excludes people of certain identities?

Under guises ancient and legion, cities, towns, campuses, and places of worship, among others, continue to exclude people based on their design. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), updated building codes, and increasing general understanding and knowledge have helped create solutions in current buildings and in the structure of outdoor spaces; too many spaces remain limited structurally due to the abilities and (lack of) needs of temporarily abled body (TAB) people. In a particularly sad, though expected, twist, churches have been allowed exemptions from the ADA and other building regulations based on their status as religious institutions.

Cities, towns, campuses, parks, churches, and other spaces of any size now have relatively simple choices they can implement to change how people living with certain disabilities experience those spaces. Sidewalks and roads can be repaired to reduce tripping. Dips can be carved into curbs—or even better, designed that way in the first place—to allow people using wheelchairs to access streets, and those dips can be fitted with contrasting surfaces to indicate the edge of the sidewalk and the beginning of the street. Crossing signals can be installed with audible alerts for people who are blind or have limited vision.

Despite the best intentions that go into certain changes, pernicious lack of attention and exclusion of disabled people in the design process remains a major limitation to the full affirmation of people living with disabilities, particularly in the church and in education. For instance, the church that designs its bathrooms to accommodate people using wheelchairs but fails to adjust the width of the aisles and the pews in its sanctuary to accommodate the same people.

We have to remember that disability is another intersecting identity with all the other identities a person holds. A close friend who uses a wheelchair has reminded me that churches and other spaces can be the epitome of affirming and inclusive for most of his identities, but if he can’t access the space physically, then everything else the church offers is lost for him.

Have you ever needed accommodations in the built environment of your community, campus, or church? How can you act to make your environment more accessible for others?

Let us pray: God, you created each one of us in your perfect image, and you called us good. Unfortunately, we failed to recognize your image in the lives of our siblings living with disabilities. We have intentionally designed structures and environments that further exclude them from full participation in our communities. Help us, gracious God, to acknowledge our impact regardless of our intentions and to create environments that promote everyone’s flourishing. We ask this in the name of your Son, who experienced our limitations and chose to be our liberator. Amen.

Blessings on your weeks, my friends. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Faithfully,

Ben