I Became a Foster Parent During a Pandemic

March 20, 2020 | Life

Becoming a foster parent under the best circumstances is tough as it is. Becoming a foster parent during a pandemic has been one of the most difficult challenges of my life.

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Hi, I'm Shannon Greene.

Pastor | Writer | Speaker

I am a follower of Christ, a minister of the gospel, the wife of Randy, Wesleyan in my theology, and a lover of books.

I'm hoping to be a Woman of Valor speaking her truth and working to build the Kingdom of God right here on Earth.

I Became a Foster Parent During a Pandemic

Becoming a foster parent under the best circumstances is tough as it is. Becoming a foster parent during a pandemic has been one of the most difficult challenges of my life.

November 26, 2019

Starting, Stopping, and Starting Again: How I've Learned to Be Healthier Online

Blogging and social media were great tools that served a purpose for me at a time when I needed them and had very few other outlets and safe spaces. While I am grateful they were available, looking back on that time of my life now, I can see that these online communities often became very unhealthy and even toxic for me.

November 8, 2019

The Sacred and Holy Call of Fostering

Over the last few months when we’ve shared that we are starting this journey, we’ve often been asked, “What made you want to become foster parents?”

Division and Unity on the Day of Pentecost

Even though we share the same spiritual language, the same faith in the risen Christ, and the same creeds of our earliest brothers and sisters, we Christians have a bad habit of creating divisions among the body of Christ.

Baseball and the Kingdom of God

If Jesus could compare the Kingdom to a mustard seed, a batch of yeast, and a farmer's field, there's no reason why we can't also say, "the Kingdom of God is like a baseball game."

Not Yet Turned Into Now

A couple of years ago I wrote about my personal journey from mourning to healing. I shared about resigning my pastoral role as a youth minister in Oklahoma and moving into an administrative position with Nazarene Youth International. This change came at a time in my life when I needed to step away from parish […]

December 5, 2017

What My Dog is Teaching Me About Patience this Advent

All too often I am that anxious puppy, nervously begging and impatiently waiting, forgetting all of the times God has provided for me in the past.

November 30, 2017

We Need a Little Advent

For many people both in our country and around the world, 2017 was a rough year. I don’t know about you, but as for me, this year I need a little Advent.

Freedom from Legalism

As 2016 turned into 2017, there were several blog posts floating around the internet that introduced the concept of picking a “word for the year.” As the “My One Word” website explains, you are to “Choose just one word that represents what you most hope God will do in you, and focus on it for […]

February 24, 2017

Continued Reflections on "The Dangers of Experience"

In my brief and humble writing career, I don’t think I have written a blog post that has received such a widespread variety of responses as “The Dangers of Experience.” I was honored that this piece was picked up and published by my denominational publication, the Church of Nazarene’s Holiness Today. Since it’s publication, I […]

December 17, 2016

My Advent List

I don’t know about you, but I am obsessed with my Amazon Wish List, especially during this time of year. I am constantly checking it, adding new things, and taking away items I no longer want. Did you know that you can even “rank” or prioritize the items you have on your Wish List? You […]

October 28, 2016

The Dangers of Experience

In the Church of the Nazarene, one of the greatest tools we have to evaluate and guide our faith is the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Many different diagrams or variations of the Wesley Quad have been introduced over the years, but in its simplest form, it means that we allow several perspectives inform our faith: the writings […]

August 13, 2016

Since When is Being "Politically Correct" a Bad Thing?

Politically Correct (PC): Avoiding language or behavior that any particular group of people might feel is unkind or offensive In case you haven’t noticed, the United States is currently in the midst of a heated and polemic presidential race. Increasingly over the last few months, I have heard many people railing against what they deem “political […]

"We Don't Need No Modern Jesus"

There’s a song that I recently can’t seem to get out of my head: “Modern Jesus” by Portugal. The Man. This intriguing and catchy song has captured my interest and piqued my curiosity. In the music video for “Modern Jesus,” religious images of stained glass windows, icons, crosses, and cathedrals are juxtaposed with clips portraying […]

November 15, 2015

Finding Truth in the Tension

One of the key elements of being a follower of Christ is the ability to embrace a little mystery: We believe that Jesus was both fully divine fully human. We believe in a Triune God -- Three Beings in One. These primary tenets of the Christian faith don’t make sense; the math doesn’t add up. […]

October 9, 2015

Sexism and the Kingdom of God

Ever since I attended the Nazarene Youth Conference back in July, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Kingdom of God. I find myself especially longing for the Kingdom’s coming when I am confronted by issues such as xenophobia, racism, poverty, and sexism. I am eager for the day when these things will no longer […]

September 25, 2015

We are a Global Church

I have been reminded the past few weeks that I am a part of a Global Church. Now, like me, this is probably something you’ve already known for awhile. The Body of Christ reaches every corner of the world: “In Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). My […]

September 3, 2015

My Journey from Mourning to Healing

Earlier this summer, I did something scary: I resigned my position as a youth pastor. I took a step back from pastoral ministry and I left the role for which I had been trained and educated over the course of seven years. As any pastor can tell you, their vocation is more than just a […]

Thy Kingdom Come

Earlier this month, I had the unique privilege to travel to Louisville, Kentucky, for the 2015 Nazarene Youth Conference. Along with four students from my youth group, we joined with nearly 7000 other Nazarene teens and adult sponsors for a denominational gathering that only happens once every four years. The theme for NYC2015 was “Thy […]

Guns and the Kingdom of God

In the wake of last month’s shooting at at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the ever-constant debate of gun control has been stirred up once again. Since this horrific event happened in a house of worship, many Christians are speaking out and adding their voices to the conversation, wondering what could have been […]

It's Not Easy Being a Moderate

“You’re wishy-washy. You can’t seem to make up your mind.” “You’re just a fence-sitter.” “You want to pick and choose the things that you believe in.” “If you are neither hot nor cold, you are lukewarm. And you know what Jesus said about people who are lukewarm…” “I only see things in black and white. […]

Moving Closer to the Center

In recent conversations, I have been reminded of a way of thinking that I first learned about in college: bounded sets versus centered sets. While this article explains it much better than I can, essentially bounded set thinking is concerned about belonging to a certain group. This group has shared values and a common ideology, […]

"I Wish All the Lord's People Were Prophets!"

The other day, I came across a Bible passage that I do not recall having ever read before. The story came from Numbers 11. The Lord ordered Moses to select 70 men from the among the nation of Israel to act as leaders and elders for the people. That way, Moses would not have to […]

Why I'm a Nazarene, Part 5

This is the conclusion to the five-part series, "Why I'm a Nazarene": Part 1: History and Background of the Church of the Nazarene Part 2: Equality in Ministry in the Church of the Nazarene Part 3: Scriptural Interpretation in the Church of the Nazarene Part 4: Optimistic Grace in the Church of the Nazarene On […]

Why I'm a Nazarene, Part 4

This post is part four of a five-part series, “Why I’m a Nazarene”: Part 1: History and Background of the Church of the Nazarene Part 2: Equality in Ministry in the Church of the Nazarene Part 3: Scriptural Interpretation in the Church of the Nazarene If I was dreading to write my last post on Scriptural […]

Yet Another Call to Transparency

In the midst of writing my series on Why I’m a Nazarene, I am at the same time greatly saddened and somewhat frustrated by my denomination. I love the Church of the Nazarene, but I am deeply distressed by recent events at two of our denominational universities -- MidAmerica Nazarene University and Northwest Nazarene University. […]

Why I'm a Nazarene, Part 3

This post is part three of a five-part series, "Why I'm a Nazarene": Part 1: History and Background of the Church of the Nazarene Part 2: Equality in Ministry in the Church of the Nazarene I’ll admit it. This is the post in my “Why I’m a Nazarene” series that I have been dreading to […]

Why I'm a Nazarene, Part 2

This post is a continuation of a series that began with "Why I am a Nazarene, Part 1: History and Background of the Church of the Nazarene." I recently read Rachel Held Evans’s memoir Faith Unraveled. At one point she shared, “When I was a little girl, I knew I could be anything I wanted […]

Why I'm a Nazarene, Part 1

Author's Note: In a little less than a month, I will have the honor and privilege of being ordained as a minister in the Church of the Nazarene, the culmination of a six-year long journey. Because of my impending ordination, I wanted to take some time over the next few weeks to talk about the […]

Resisting the Temptation of Ambition

In a little under two weeks, the time of the Christian year known as Lent will wrap up as we move into the celebration of the Easter season. This year for Lent, our youth group used a teen curriculum called “Live Fast.” This series takes a look a the three different temptations of Jesus in the […]

An Adoption Story

It all started with a cat. I have always loved cats. I would definitely consider myself a “cat person.” Growing up, we usually had at least one pet cat in our household at all times. I had never even owned a dog. So when the small, orange striped cat started hanging around our house and […]

Christianity in the Margins

While browsing Reddit a few days ago (always a dangerous thing to do), I came across an article originally posted in the atheism sub-reddit. This article stated that according to recent survey findings, the number of Americans who did not claim a particular religion was on the rise. In 2014, about 21% of all Americans claimed no […]

Feminist Church

Author’s Note: With International Women’s Day earlier this week, I thought it would be a good time to revisit some thoughts that I had posted on my personal blog in 2013. In many conservative evangelical circles, the term “feminist” is practically a dirty word, right there along with “pro-choice,” “gay marriage,” and “evolution.” Even hearing […]

I confess...

Not too long ago, I published a blog post entitled “A Wary Generation.” In it, I discussed how we Millennials are longing for transparency and a desire for people to be authentic and real with us. Since then, I have been convicted about my own transparency (or lack thereof). Tim Suttle, a Kansas City pastor, […]

Church, Lay Down Your Arms

The other day I read a blog post by Owen Strachan called, “Dear Rob Bell: The Church Isn't Giving an Inch on Gay Marriage.” It was one of those rare and unsettling occasions where I wished I could take back something that I had read. Not only did this post break my heart and make me sick […]

A Wary Generation

A few days ago, Michael Palmer, a good friend and fellow Nazarene pastor, wrote a blog entitled, “Admitting My Trust Issues with the Church.” In it, he spoke of the growing distrust among millennial generation pastors regarding religious institutions and denominational leadership. He writes, We've witnessed a steady stream of mismanagement, cover-ups and abuse. From the […]

February 27, 2015

A Call to Transparency

I have spent the last few days sorting my thoughts on the recent situation happening at my alma mater, MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. To save time, my husband has already compiled a short summary of the situation and any relevant articles and blog posts. Through social media outlets, blogs, open-community forums, and the […]

February 21, 2015

When "Love" Is Not Enough

“I just want to love.” We throw around that word “love” all the time, but do we even know what it means? I love my dog. I love pizza. I love shopping. I love reading. I love the band The Classic Crime. I love naps. I love fall. Love. Love. Love. I love my husband […]

February 17, 2014

A Pastor’s Plea to Parents

Dear parents of teens, I need your help. As a youth pastor, the main purpose of my job is to point teens toward Jesus. I am doing my best to lead them into God’s presence and help form them into genuine followers of Christ. But I cannot do this all on my own. So I […]