#belonging — Public Fediverse posts

WE'RE BACK!!!🤍

MEET OUR GUEST FOR EPISODE 16 — ADRIAAN VAN KLINKEN

What happens when we place gender, sex, sexuality and spirituality under the same microscope?

This is a conversation about faith, identity, difference, sexuality and the spaces where they collide — but also about the possibility of creating something more inclusive, compassionate and liberating.

Episode 16 drops Friday, 11 September 2026🎙️

#Belonging #Belonginghappy #Theology #Queerspirituality #LGBTQ+Podcast

The Beauty of “Incompetence”

As a pastor—and in many other roles—I have often felt underqualified, overwhelmed, awkward, and incompetent. Perhaps you have had similar experiences.

Those feelings can quickly become spiritually corrosive. Insecurity turns into bitterness. A lack of recognition feels like disrespect. Another person’s success awakens jealousy. Discouragement becomes depression, and honest self-awareness hardens into relentless self-criticism.

Eventually, fear can keep us from releasing the very gifts God has entrusted to us.

Yet Scripture offers a surprising vision of our inadequacy: weakness is not merely an obstacle God must overcome. It can become the very place where God’s grace is most clearly revealed.

Paul pleaded for his “thorn” to be removed, but Christ answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God did not tell Paul that his weakness was imaginary. Nor did God promise that faithful people would always feel capable. Instead, God promised that divine strength could inhabit human frailty.

This is the beauty of incompetence—not that incompetence itself is virtuous, or that we should resist learning and growth, but that our limitations can free us from the illusion of self-sufficiency. We do not need to be everything. We were never meant to be everything.

The image of the body of Christ makes this especially clear. An eye cannot resent the hand for being able to grasp. A hand cannot despise the foot because it travels farther. Nor can one part say to another, “I don’t need you.” Every member is limited, and every member is necessary. Our limitations are part of what draws us into dependence upon one another.

Sometimes I feel incompetent because I am comparing my gift with someone else’s. At other times, I may genuinely be trying to perform a role for which another member of the body is better equipped. In either case, the answer is not self-hatred. It is humility: understanding my place, recognizing the gifts of others, learning where growth is needed, and allowing Christ to coordinate his body.

My weakness does not excuse irresponsibility. I should still prepare, learn, seek counsel, repent when necessary, and develop the gifts I have been given. But faithful preparation is different from trying to prove my worth. I do not serve so that I can become valuable. I serve because, in Christ, I am already loved—and because grace has given me something particular to contribute.

Perhaps the gifts buried beneath our self-criticism are not waiting for us to become impressive. Perhaps they are waiting for us to trust God enough to offer them imperfectly.

God has always worked through unlikely people: Moses, who protested that he could not speak well; Gideon, who considered himself the least; Jeremiah, who believed he was too young; Peter, who repeatedly misunderstood and failed Christ’s teachings; and Paul, whose ministry displayed both remarkable power and profound weakness. Each of these people’s usefulness did not rest on personal adequacy but on God’s presence.

The church does not need us to become flawless. It needs us to be available—honest about our weaknesses, willing to grow, ready to receive help, and courageous enough to offer what God has placed within us.

I may sometimes feel underqualified, overwhelmed, or awkward. But that does not mean that I am therefore unusable. My limitations can become an invitation: to rely on grace, to honor the rest of Christ’s body, and to discover that God’s power is often most beautiful where and when human strength runs out.

You notice you're part of a harmony when another voice enters and everything rearranges.

Further reading: https://emotusoperandi.medium.com/your-self-care-action-items-f1c98bcedca6

#RMaurice #LifeboatAcademy #StayHuman #Belonging #Practice

When somebody says to you that they like you, will you ghost them if you do not like them?

#dating #socialpressures #livedexperience #poll #reflections #boundaries #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #vulnerability #selfworth #belonging #solitude #relationships

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#dating #socialpressures #livedexperience #poll #reflections #boundaries #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #vulnerability #selfworth #belonging #solitude #relationships

I am considering ceasing to pursue dating, as I feel that the societal message suggests I should not attempt it.

#dating #socialpressures #livedexperience #poll #reflections #boundaries #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #vulnerability #selfworth #belonging #solitude #relationships