nicole mason
@nicolemason.bsky.social
church planter(ish). Latina pastoring on the margins of institutional church. Experimenting with grassroot, holistic, faith-based community formation in HTX.
Church leaders: equipping and enabling your people to lead alongside and even instead of you is a good and necessary form of rebellion against the powers that be.
January 27, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Church leaders: equipping and enabling your people to lead alongside and even instead of you is a good and necessary form of rebellion against the powers that be.
Reposted by nicole mason
Today I was reminded I have very little in common with Christians but so much in common with Christ.
That is enough for me.
I support none of today or anything it stood for. And neither would Jesus.
Good night everyone… and grievers especially.
That is enough for me.
I support none of today or anything it stood for. And neither would Jesus.
Good night everyone… and grievers especially.
January 20, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Today I was reminded I have very little in common with Christians but so much in common with Christ.
That is enough for me.
I support none of today or anything it stood for. And neither would Jesus.
Good night everyone… and grievers especially.
That is enough for me.
I support none of today or anything it stood for. And neither would Jesus.
Good night everyone… and grievers especially.
Reposted by nicole mason
If you’re feeling distressed right now, that is absolutely valid.
One thing that helped me feel more grounded was cracking open some history & learning what those who came before us did in worse conditions, with less, & still won.
Learning from them will be key. Today is a good day for that.
One thing that helped me feel more grounded was cracking open some history & learning what those who came before us did in worse conditions, with less, & still won.
Learning from them will be key. Today is a good day for that.
January 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
If you’re feeling distressed right now, that is absolutely valid.
One thing that helped me feel more grounded was cracking open some history & learning what those who came before us did in worse conditions, with less, & still won.
Learning from them will be key. Today is a good day for that.
One thing that helped me feel more grounded was cracking open some history & learning what those who came before us did in worse conditions, with less, & still won.
Learning from them will be key. Today is a good day for that.
Sometimes trying to form in folks a radically different view of scripture, community, and church as a whole can feel really overwhelming and like fighting against a current that will never slow down.
And then sometimes you get sent a voice memo like this and then all of a sudden you're floating 😭💕
And then sometimes you get sent a voice memo like this and then all of a sudden you're floating 😭💕
January 16, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Sometimes trying to form in folks a radically different view of scripture, community, and church as a whole can feel really overwhelming and like fighting against a current that will never slow down.
And then sometimes you get sent a voice memo like this and then all of a sudden you're floating 😭💕
And then sometimes you get sent a voice memo like this and then all of a sudden you're floating 😭💕
The problem with believing every wrong we see come out of the church is due to poor or insufficient biblical interpretation is that the proposed solution (better education, instruction, etc.) will only continue to divide and give autonomous power to the privileged, the able-bodied, and the few.
January 16, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The problem with believing every wrong we see come out of the church is due to poor or insufficient biblical interpretation is that the proposed solution (better education, instruction, etc.) will only continue to divide and give autonomous power to the privileged, the able-bodied, and the few.
Reposted by nicole mason
Jesus's declaration of the Kingdom of God was never about superficial harmony. Jesus drew lines, stood on the side of the marginalized and oppressed, and invited us to join him.
As the world continues to turn its back on those on the margins, Christians have an obligation to join Jesus’ side.
As the world continues to turn its back on those on the margins, Christians have an obligation to join Jesus’ side.
January 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Jesus's declaration of the Kingdom of God was never about superficial harmony. Jesus drew lines, stood on the side of the marginalized and oppressed, and invited us to join him.
As the world continues to turn its back on those on the margins, Christians have an obligation to join Jesus’ side.
As the world continues to turn its back on those on the margins, Christians have an obligation to join Jesus’ side.
Declaring confidently,
"I do not fit into spaces that were not built for me" shouldn't be the hot take it feels like it is.
But then you realize this is true of most women when it comes to most religious institutions currently available to us. And then ya, it sounds kind of absurd.
"I do not fit into spaces that were not built for me" shouldn't be the hot take it feels like it is.
But then you realize this is true of most women when it comes to most religious institutions currently available to us. And then ya, it sounds kind of absurd.
January 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Declaring confidently,
"I do not fit into spaces that were not built for me" shouldn't be the hot take it feels like it is.
But then you realize this is true of most women when it comes to most religious institutions currently available to us. And then ya, it sounds kind of absurd.
"I do not fit into spaces that were not built for me" shouldn't be the hot take it feels like it is.
But then you realize this is true of most women when it comes to most religious institutions currently available to us. And then ya, it sounds kind of absurd.
"If I weren't me, I'd be in an Episcopal church right now. But I am me, and as free from the stains of evangelical culture many mainline denominations appear to be, people like me still don’t really fit there."
Reflecting on my love of, but ultimate discontentment within mainline churches today.
Reflecting on my love of, but ultimate discontentment within mainline churches today.
Why I Am Not Episcopalian
Or Methodist, or PC(USA), or any other denomination you are sure i'd love!
nicolemason.substack.com
January 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
"If I weren't me, I'd be in an Episcopal church right now. But I am me, and as free from the stains of evangelical culture many mainline denominations appear to be, people like me still don’t really fit there."
Reflecting on my love of, but ultimate discontentment within mainline churches today.
Reflecting on my love of, but ultimate discontentment within mainline churches today.
Small church perks:
My Christmas gift to each of our members is a personalized Scott the Painter print that made me think of them along with a handwritten letter as to why.
This is the part of pastoring I've always loved. Praise God for a church infrastructure that allows me to thrive within it.
My Christmas gift to each of our members is a personalized Scott the Painter print that made me think of them along with a handwritten letter as to why.
This is the part of pastoring I've always loved. Praise God for a church infrastructure that allows me to thrive within it.
January 7, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Small church perks:
My Christmas gift to each of our members is a personalized Scott the Painter print that made me think of them along with a handwritten letter as to why.
This is the part of pastoring I've always loved. Praise God for a church infrastructure that allows me to thrive within it.
My Christmas gift to each of our members is a personalized Scott the Painter print that made me think of them along with a handwritten letter as to why.
This is the part of pastoring I've always loved. Praise God for a church infrastructure that allows me to thrive within it.
Reposted by nicole mason
For any chance at a better future, the Church must shift from a hierarchical mindset to a network one.
This will require challenging many underlying assumptions about "church" and learning a whole new set of skills for how we relate to one another.
This will require challenging many underlying assumptions about "church" and learning a whole new set of skills for how we relate to one another.
January 7, 2025 at 6:29 PM
For any chance at a better future, the Church must shift from a hierarchical mindset to a network one.
This will require challenging many underlying assumptions about "church" and learning a whole new set of skills for how we relate to one another.
This will require challenging many underlying assumptions about "church" and learning a whole new set of skills for how we relate to one another.
I am far too long-winded and not near quippy enough for 300 character limits.
This place scares me.
This place scares me.
January 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I am far too long-winded and not near quippy enough for 300 character limits.
This place scares me.
This place scares me.
Reposted by nicole mason
Read widely. Read beyond what’s “allowed.” Read work that makes you squirm. Read perspectives that challenge your assumptions. As someone raised in fundamentalism, I didn’t read widely until far too late. It’s never too late and still, I wish I’d started sooner. I wish I’d known better.
January 7, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Read widely. Read beyond what’s “allowed.” Read work that makes you squirm. Read perspectives that challenge your assumptions. As someone raised in fundamentalism, I didn’t read widely until far too late. It’s never too late and still, I wish I’d started sooner. I wish I’d known better.
Think it's about time for a formal introduction!
I'm Nicole!
✨ I spent the first 7 years of my ministry career in complementarian spaces before being yeeted out for good in 2021.
✨ I'm a Latina who often jokes my white side colonized the shit out of my Hispanic side for my first 25 years of life.
I'm Nicole!
✨ I spent the first 7 years of my ministry career in complementarian spaces before being yeeted out for good in 2021.
✨ I'm a Latina who often jokes my white side colonized the shit out of my Hispanic side for my first 25 years of life.
November 23, 2024 at 6:18 PM
Think it's about time for a formal introduction!
I'm Nicole!
✨ I spent the first 7 years of my ministry career in complementarian spaces before being yeeted out for good in 2021.
✨ I'm a Latina who often jokes my white side colonized the shit out of my Hispanic side for my first 25 years of life.
I'm Nicole!
✨ I spent the first 7 years of my ministry career in complementarian spaces before being yeeted out for good in 2021.
✨ I'm a Latina who often jokes my white side colonized the shit out of my Hispanic side for my first 25 years of life.
"I slowly leaned over toward my husband and whispered a truth I would ruminate on for the following week:
I don’t think white women know what community means
And as we drove home and reflected further, my husband would add some brilliant insight:
1/3
I don’t think white women know what community means
And as we drove home and reflected further, my husband would add some brilliant insight:
1/3
November 22, 2024 at 3:36 PM
"I slowly leaned over toward my husband and whispered a truth I would ruminate on for the following week:
I don’t think white women know what community means
And as we drove home and reflected further, my husband would add some brilliant insight:
1/3
I don’t think white women know what community means
And as we drove home and reflected further, my husband would add some brilliant insight:
1/3
Post a non-religious photo you think of as holy:
Learning to make my own masa from scratch and slowly healing three generations of mother/daughter wounds in doing so
Learning to make my own masa from scratch and slowly healing three generations of mother/daughter wounds in doing so
November 21, 2024 at 8:43 PM
Post a non-religious photo you think of as holy:
Learning to make my own masa from scratch and slowly healing three generations of mother/daughter wounds in doing so
Learning to make my own masa from scratch and slowly healing three generations of mother/daughter wounds in doing so
Reposted by nicole mason
So many of us were jolted to the reality of the brokenness of US evangelicalism in 2016 and 2020.
Some of us continued to do the hard work of decolonizing our theology and learning from voices on the margins within the US Church who have been saying similar things for centuries now.
1/2
Some of us continued to do the hard work of decolonizing our theology and learning from voices on the margins within the US Church who have been saying similar things for centuries now.
1/2
November 20, 2024 at 4:42 PM
So many of us were jolted to the reality of the brokenness of US evangelicalism in 2016 and 2020.
Some of us continued to do the hard work of decolonizing our theology and learning from voices on the margins within the US Church who have been saying similar things for centuries now.
1/2
Some of us continued to do the hard work of decolonizing our theology and learning from voices on the margins within the US Church who have been saying similar things for centuries now.
1/2
Daily reminder that simply switching to a more progressive version of your evangelical past will do very little to actually heal your faith. i.e.
-just go to a progressive church
-with a progressive lead pastor
-who will recommend progressive devotionals
-and teach from progressive commentaries
🧵
-just go to a progressive church
-with a progressive lead pastor
-who will recommend progressive devotionals
-and teach from progressive commentaries
🧵
November 20, 2024 at 3:22 PM
Daily reminder that simply switching to a more progressive version of your evangelical past will do very little to actually heal your faith. i.e.
-just go to a progressive church
-with a progressive lead pastor
-who will recommend progressive devotionals
-and teach from progressive commentaries
🧵
-just go to a progressive church
-with a progressive lead pastor
-who will recommend progressive devotionals
-and teach from progressive commentaries
🧵
Reposted by nicole mason
Word of the day. Or week. Or next four years.
November 20, 2024 at 1:57 PM
Word of the day. Or week. Or next four years.
Would love to know what happened to all the Sound of Freedom fanatics. Guess it's only concerning when brown people are depicted as traffickers.
The "hold your nose and vote for Trump for president, not pastor" to "oh my gosh, the child he trafficked wasn't even that young, stop being such a prude" pipeline turned out to be exactly eight years long.
November 20, 2024 at 2:42 PM
Would love to know what happened to all the Sound of Freedom fanatics. Guess it's only concerning when brown people are depicted as traffickers.
I will never for the life of me understand why white evangelicals insist on non- religious teachers educating their children about the Bible?
It's almost like it has nothing to do with religious or faith based education, but everything to do with power and control.
We ain't okay in Texas y'all.
It's almost like it has nothing to do with religious or faith based education, but everything to do with power and control.
We ain't okay in Texas y'all.
Texas’ education board advanced a new Bible-infused curriculum that would be optional for schools to incorporate in K-5th grades, the latest GOP-led effort to incorporate more religious teaching into classrooms
Texas board advances plan to allow Bible material in elemetary school lessons
The Texas State Board of Education has given initial approval to a Bible-infused curriculum that would be optional for public schools to adopt for lessons from kindergarten through fifth grade.
apnews.com
November 20, 2024 at 1:08 AM
I will never for the life of me understand why white evangelicals insist on non- religious teachers educating their children about the Bible?
It's almost like it has nothing to do with religious or faith based education, but everything to do with power and control.
We ain't okay in Texas y'all.
It's almost like it has nothing to do with religious or faith based education, but everything to do with power and control.
We ain't okay in Texas y'all.
Reposted by nicole mason
Should people just leave off the few token women of color they put on these lists of women in theology, biblical studies, etc., and call them what they are: White women in theology, biblical studies, etc.?
November 19, 2024 at 11:49 PM
Should people just leave off the few token women of color they put on these lists of women in theology, biblical studies, etc., and call them what they are: White women in theology, biblical studies, etc.?
Reposted by nicole mason
Want to make your church more welcoming? Invite individuals with disabilities to lead in reading or prayer on Sunday mornings.
November 18, 2024 at 3:18 PM
Want to make your church more welcoming? Invite individuals with disabilities to lead in reading or prayer on Sunday mornings.
Gonna go ahead and establish this space as the kind of radical I wish to see in the world and come out swinging:
De-colonizing our faith means decentering the Bible as our primary source of understanding God and decentering Sunday mornings as our primary source of belonging.
De-colonizing our faith means decentering the Bible as our primary source of understanding God and decentering Sunday mornings as our primary source of belonging.
November 18, 2024 at 11:27 PM
Gonna go ahead and establish this space as the kind of radical I wish to see in the world and come out swinging:
De-colonizing our faith means decentering the Bible as our primary source of understanding God and decentering Sunday mornings as our primary source of belonging.
De-colonizing our faith means decentering the Bible as our primary source of understanding God and decentering Sunday mornings as our primary source of belonging.