Taking a Brave Stance with Melissa Greene
Have you ever changed a strongly held value or belief system? Or, have you ever changed your mind on something you\u2019ve always believed to be true?
For today\u2019s guest, Melissa Greene, she has done that many times over. And Melissa credits her constant growth and evolution to her willingness to be curious and gain a deeper understanding about the world around her.
But, Melissa wasn\u2019t always this way. She grew up in a conservative, evangelical household in Florida. She believed that her upbringing as a Southern Baptist was the \u201cright\u201d way of doing life and believing in God. But as she gained exposure to other thinking and ideas, her worldview and beliefs changed too.\xa0
Melissa started her career as a Christian music artist and for seven years, she sang as part of the contemporary Christian music group, Avalon. She then went on to pastor a church in Nashville that was widely publicized for its decision to become an LGBTQ-affirming congregation. And now she leads Imaginarium, a non-religious space that makes room for all of humanity and spiritual journeys.\xa0\xa0
My conversation with Melissa took place four weeks ago. It was in the wake of the news about Ahmad Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We couldn\u2019t have known when we recorded this that George Floyd\u2019s horrific murder would follow a couple of weeks later.\xa0
During our conversation, we spent a good deal of time talking about racial injustice and finding the courage to speak up, which is more important than ever. If you\u2019re someone who is struggling to understand or is looking for ways to help, I really hope you\u2019ll take the time to listen. Melissa offers some great perspective and wisdom that I think you\u2019ll find valuable.
I could have easily talked to Melissa for hours. I learned so much from our conversation and I just know you will as well.
Connect with Melissa Greene & Her Work
To learn more about Melissa\u2019s work, check out the Imaginarium website. You can also become part of the Imaginarium Facebook community here. Melissa\u2019s personal website is in progress, but here\u2019s where you can find it once it\u2019s live.
Here\u2019s the Time article we mentioned about Melissa\u2019s church becoming LGBTQ inclusive.
Here are the ways you can follow Melissa social media:
Here are the ways to connect with Imaginarium:
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Thanks for listening! And just remember, whatever you do today, don\u2019t forget to make it brave!