Zao MKE Church

Underground: Demonized

Empire demonizes the marginalized. Turns the oppressed into boogiemen. What if we have our ghost stories all wrong? Luckily, Jesus knows who the real demons are.

 

Join us for Underground, a new series on the gospel of Mark. We'll trace Jesus's story from beginning to end, as he builds a movement while trying to stay off the grid until the right moment arrives for the showdown with empire at the cross. This is the gospel like you've never heard - tell no one.

Underground: Take Root

Jesus said that not everyone who hears the Good News will be able to let it take root in them and flourish. So how do we cultivate ourselves as fertile ground - especially when systems of oppression grow up like thorns all around us?

 

Join us for Underground, a new series on the gospel of Mark. We'll trace Jesus's story from beginning to end, as he builds a movement while trying to stay off the grid until the right moment arrives for the showdown with empire at the cross. This is the gospel like you've never heard - tell no one.

Underground: Nonbinary Jesus

Jesus was a walking talking paradox: human/divine, Jewish/Jewish lawbreaker, savior/crucified, alive/dead/alive again.... binary breaking in nearly every way. What supposedly contradictory identities do you hold? What if they are the key to the divine image of God in you?

 

Join us for Underground, a new series on the gospel of Mark. We'll trace Jesus's story from beginning to end, as he builds a movement while trying to stay off the grid until the right moment arrives for the showdown with empire at the cross. This is the gospel like you've never heard - tell no one.

Underground: Outsider

The beginning of the good news doesn't start at the temple. It's not even in the city. It's on the outskirts, thumbing its nose at the structures of oppression and hierarchy. In a world where some are insiders and some are outsiders, Jesus is clear to start where the holiest power lies - the margins.

 

This Sunday we kick off Underground, a new series on the gospel of Mark. We'll trace Jesus's story from beginning to end, as he builds a movement while trying to stay off the grid until the right moment arrives for the showdown with empire at the cross. This is the gospel like you've never heard - tell no one.

Bringing Sexy Back

Let's be honest, most of what the church has taught us about sexual ethics is trash.

 

We're over it.

 

This week, we start fresh! Let's form a new and healthier attitude towards faith and sex - one that is sex positive, queer-informed, feminist, and Biblical.

Pure Trash: Let’s Get Physical

What is sex, anyway?

In the church, sexuality gets reduced to some pretty narrow, heteronormative definitions. This leaves out a lot of sexual expression, and sets the stage for lots of church kids getting very creative so that ']they can remain "pure" in the eyes of God.
This week we'll delve deep into the steamiest scriptures, revisit what it means to be sexual, and find out how physical connection can be holy, Biblical, and not confined to the definitions or even relationships that we've been told about in church.

Pure Trash: Purity Culture and Patriarchy

True love is mutual, but purity and #TrueLoveWaits culture wants to replace generous mutuality with patriarchy and the oppression of women.

 

"men and women are different but equal" 
"women are helpmates, men heads of household" 
"wives and husbands both submit to each other, but…. differently" 

 

Purity culture not only creates gendered hierarchy within relationships, it also makes women and girls responsible for managing the sexuality, fantasy life, and violence of boys and men.

 

But what does the Bible *actually* have to say about this? Turns out Jesus was a radical feminist, and much of what he had to say about lust, adultery, and purity is actually about turning the tables to put a fair share of responsibility back on men.

 

Only with true equality can people of all genders find Biblical, Godly love. 

Pure Trash: True Love is Complicated

True love waits, right? Ummmm...
It's complicated.
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Those of us who grew up in the church ended up with some pretty messed up ideas about sex, sin, and intimacy. Whether you grew up in the era of #TrueLoveWaits, had a purity ring, or even just experienced the purity-culture-light version of general sex negativity, you may have some unlearning to do when it comes to the Bible, faith, and sexuality. ​​​​​​​​
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Join us this Sunday as we kick off our new summer series, Pure Trash: putting purity culture where it belongs. We'll talk about where it all came from, what the Bible (and Jesus!) *actually* have to say about sexuality, and how to form a new and healthier attitude towards faith and sex - one that is sex positive, queer-informed, feminist, and Biblical. ​​​​​​​​

Party People: Be Gay Do Crime

Sometimes being transgressive is an act of holiness.

 

This pride weekend, come hear about the time King David (notoriously fluid in his sexuality and gender expression) danced nearly naked through the streets as both a celebration and a protest, and how modern pride paraders and queer activists are inheritors of that that courageous Bibilical demonstration of turning mourning into dancing.

Party People: Snoozefest

Ever feel like the best party would be just a nice, long, nap?

 

When party culture is tied to hustle culture, we think every party should be a banger. But in God’s economy, rest is a critical part of a celebratory life. Come learn how taking it slow, creating space for rest, and collaborating to do nothing at all can dismantle systems of oppression.