Corcovado jesus (Photo credit: @Doug88888)
Below is the link to the sermon I preached entitled “Here Is My Servant” based on Isaiah 42:1-9.
Sermon Link
(Recorded by Voice Record Pro by Bej Bej Apps for iOS)
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Below is the link to the sermon I preached entitled “You Will See Great Things” based on John 1:43-51.
Sermon Link
(Recorded by Voice Record Pro by Bej Bej Apps for iOS)
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Now that I am a Chaplain in Beaumont, I thought I wouldn’t be preaching as much, but I was wrong. I have been asked by a Disciples of Christ congregation in Beaumont (Northwood Christian) to fill their pulpit for the month of June. I was honored that they asked and happy to do it.
Below is the link to the sermon I preached entitled “Doctor, Doctor.”
Sermon Link
(Recorded by Voice Record Pro by Bej Bej Apps for iOS)
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Today I found out that I was listed in the Top Five Coolest Dads on the Internet by People Magazine! They ranked me number 3!
Here is what they wrote:
When Evan Dolive, a reverend from Houston heard about Victoria’s Secret’s Bright Young Things collection, he wasn’t exactly running to the mall. Based on observations of the collection – which ranged from polka-dotted hipsters screen-printed with the phrase “Feeling Lucky?” to thongs emblazoned with the words “Call me” on the front – he was worried the iconically sexy retailer was targeting middle school-aged girls. And so he thought of his daughter, a 3-year-old who loves princesses, peanut butter and jelly and drawing pictures for people.
“I want my daughter (and every girl) to be faced with tough decisions in her formative years of adolescence,” he wrote in a March letter on his blog. “Decisions like should I be a doctor or a lawyer? Should I take calculus as a junior or a senior? … I want my daughter to know that she is perfect the way she is; I want my daughter to know that no matter what underwear she is wearing, it does not define her.” –Written by Alison Schwartz on people.com
I am honored to be selected for this list. As I have said many times before (and will say many times again), I never thought that my letter to Victoria’s Secret would ever garner this much attention.
Thanks to everyone for reading and supporting me on this journey!
A BIG THANK YOU TO PEOPLE.COM AND THE AUTHOR ALISON SCHWARTZ!
If you would like to see the others listed click here for the full article.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
On May 26, 2013, I preached my final sermon at Bethany Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
I was serving there as their Interim Minister. On June 3, I will be a Staff Chaplain at Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, Texas.
Leaving is never easy to do but I am looking forward to the new opportunities that await me.
To the members and friends of Bethany, thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Interim Minister.
Sermon Link (Romans 5:1-5)
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Kimberly Rae is a best selling author, blogger and world traveler. She blogs about a variety of topics but one that is close to her heart is human trafficking. She was kind enough to blog about my letter to Victoria’s Secret and I am happy to have her as the first guest author on this blog. If you would like to be a guest contributor, click here for more info.
Below is her guest post; be sure to check out her site- www.kimberlyrae.com
The Problem of Human Trafficking is Too Big-Why Bother Trying to Help?
A 15-year-old girl and her 14-year-old cousin got permission to walk down to a local Wendy’s late one night to get a couple of Frosties. While they were walking, a car drove up, and by the end of that night, these two girls had become just a tiny, tiny addition to the thousands of minors trafficked in the United States of the America, the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Now those two girls have been rescued and are home again. The older girl tells her story in a video on the website www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com, a video that will hopefully be part of required training for men joining the trucking industry in the future.
Why? Because things will never change unless people care enough to act. I think many of us look at the huge statistics and decide, why bother? There are 20 million slaves in the world today. It’s a problem too big, one person can never make a dent in it.
That’s true to an extent. Each of us on our own are pretty powerless to change the huge statistics. None of us can expect to do the impossible.
However . . . we can make a difference in one life. It may not seem much, but if that one person was your daughter, or your friend, or yourself, wouldn’t you want someone to “bother”–to put forth the effort to make a difference even if they couldn’t save everybody?
I would. As I place myself in those young girls’ shoes, being forced to sell myself to strangers, staying because of threats against my family or my own life, I know I would desperately want to escape but likely not have the courage. Or the resources.
But if someone came along, someone who didn’t just look through me but really saw me, if they cared enough to ask one or two important questions, then make just one phone call–a call that would deliver me and give me back a future, I would reach out for the freedom offered me. I would grasp hold of the possibility of a future and a hope.
Isn’t that, after all, what Jesus gives us? (Jer. 29:11)
And wouldn’t He rejoice to see us doing that for others?
That’s what happened recently when those girls who’d been trapped for 10 years in a home in Cleveland were rescued. All across our country, girls (and some boys too) are being taken, trapped, and forced to sell themselves against their will. A major part of this happens within the trucking industry. Girls are taken to truck stops, where they are forced to go from truck to truck, offering their “company.” They even have a name. Lot lizards.
But things are changing. Thanks to Truckers Against Trafficking, men are finding out that many of the girls they see do not want to be there, no matter how they pretend. Truckers are making phone calls to the human trafficking hotline—1-888-373-7888—and girls are being rescued.
One man called in his suspicions and, without endangering himself, caused the rescue of 9 young girls and broke down a 13-state trafficking ring. Just one person! Just one phone call.
Helen Keller once said,
“I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”
If this can be said and lived by a woman who could not hear or see, shouldn’t we be inspired that we can do our part, too?
So let’s stop looking at the massive need, the big statistics, or our own limitations. Instead, let’s become aware, and be ready to respond if God places someone before who is in need. Our actions and reactions may make all the difference in the world to someone who right now is trapped, and desperately wants to be free.
Go with God,
go for God,
go because God goes with you.
For of Him, and to Him, and through Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:36
Kimberly Rae has lived in Bangladesh, Uganda, Kosovo and Indonesia. Her Christian suspense/romance novels on international human trafficking (Stolen Woman, Stolen Child, Stolen Future) are all Amazon bestsellers. Rae is currently working on a new series on trafficking for teens. Find out more at www.kimberlyrae.com or like Kimberly’s facebook page, Human Trafficking Stolen Woman, to get updates on the fight against human trafficking.
Two months ago today I clicked publish on a post about Victoria’s Secret Spring Break Collection called “Bright Young Things.” The aim of the letter was to let Victoria’s Secret know (as well as whomever would listen) that I disliked their marketing to a younger demographics and how they set up an unattainable standard of sexuality and beauty.
To date the letter has been read/viewed on this site nearly 3.8 million times from all around the world. The letter is still be read today and shared over the internet.
To date the letter has been shared on Facebook over 765,000 times, on Twitter over 5100 times, almost 100 times on LinkedIn and over 550 times on Google Plus.
I want to take this time to say thank you for everything!
Because of the exposure I received, I have begun to contribute to a few websites- the Good Men Project, Sojourners and RadicalParents.com. I am humbled and honored to contribute to these great sites. I will try to post my articles here whenever I can.
I have been completely overwhelmed by all of this and I all of you to thank. Without you sharing, liking, emailing and commenting- none of this would have ever happened.
I still have not had an official response from Victoria’s Secret (and I do not expect to), but another clothing company did.
About month ago Fruit of the Loom contacted me to let me know that they had seen my letter online. They liked it and wanted to send my daughter “age appropriate” underwear. They sent my daughter 10 pairs! She was so excited to get them in the mail.
I want to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to Fruit of the Loom. Thank you for generosity and for thinking of my daughter! (The items pictured can be found here and here.)
Thank you again! Keep reading, sharing and liking!
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
My latest piece for Sojourners
Having a 3-year-old daughter opens your eyes to a world that you did not know existed, the world of princesses. Disney has cornered the princess market; there are currently 11 official Disney princesses, and if you are brave enough to travel to Disney World/Land or even a Disney store, you will soon find out that there is a plethora of accessories — dresses, placemats, and cups (just to name a few).
Disney has come under fire in the past for focusing only on Caucasian women — Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and others. But over time, non-white princesses were introduced, like Mulan, Pocahontas, Jasmine, and Tiana.
Disney’s latest princess was Merida from the film Brave broke most of the Disney princess rules. She didn’t like pretty gowns, she liked to shoot bows and arrows, and her crowning glory was frizzy, wild red hair. Some people believed that Disney had finally broken the mold of the “damsel in distress” model of princesses that has been a dominant theme throughout many of the films. The trend actually started with Pocahontas and Mulan; maybe the theme of strong women role models would continue. Brave was a cute film with a wonderful message. Merida had a round face and was rough and tumble with her triplet brothers. She didn’t want fancy dresses or even want to be a princess; Merida just wanted to be Merida. She was the example of girls being girls, no matter how they look.
However, in a recent update, Disney decided to take the idea of Merida in Brave and throw it out the window. Merida, for her official induction into the Disney princess cohort, got a bit of a makeover. Merida 2.0 was taller, skinnier in the waist and had a slimmer face. Her famous bow-and-arrow set are missing, and her iconic wild hair has been tamed.
After the uproar that followed, Disney quietly pulled the newer version of Merida.
But my question for Disney stands: Why? What was so wrong with Merida that it warranted the change?
Disney made a statement with the creation of Merida, and it inspired girls around the world to live into who they wanted to be, not what society wanted them to be. Merida’s makeover told girls that, yes you can be who you want to be, but at some point you are going to have to fit in.
Brave’s director called the change “atrocious” in an interview with the Marin Independent Journal.
She continued: “When little girls say they like it because it’s more sparkly, that’s all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy ‘come hither’ look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It’s horrible! Merida was created to break that mold — to give young girls a better, stronger role model, a more attainable role model, something of substance, not just a pretty face that waits around for romance.”
Girls today need characters and princesses that are strong and powerful and reflect the society of today. I know that no one princess or character on Disney will ever be 100 percent inclusive of all people, but Disney at least needs to try.
Maybe sexualized images are more marketable, but that is not the point — empowering our girls is. I’m pleased that Disney has reversed its decision to alter one of their best examples of an empowered girl. I hope the trend of strong princesses started by this character continues.
One of the most talked about and polarizing texts in all of the canon of Scripture is the book of Revelation. This book has been the subject of fiery debates, discussions, theological stances, studies and TV programs on TBN.
At first glance the book of Revelation doesn’t really seem to fit with the rest of the New Testament. It’s style and language are different than anything else in the Bible. Reformer Martin Luther (as well as others) wanted the book to be removed from the Bible.
When it comes to interpretation of this book there are several camps of thought but I will highlight two of them:
The Rapture Exposed puts forth the thesis that the book of Revelation has been misunderstood for many years. The author claims that the book was not meant to be a future predicting, dispensational text,where people are trying to connect events in the world to the ancient text. The author believes that the message of Revelation is really a hopeful one.
The book looks into the nature of Dispensational theology and how the text does not support this idea; one of the most popular modern versions of the this theology is the Left Behind series. This series has sold millions of books world wide and even spun off into three films (with a reported reboot coming soon starring Nicolas Cage). The Left Behind series follows the life of people who have been left behind after the “rapture” of all Christians on the earth. They have to battle the evil Anti Christ and try to get the message out about the salvation of God in Christ before God destroys the world and starts anew.
The author, Barbara Rossing, writes:
To understand the biblical basis for much of today’s end-times thinking we have to begin our story further back than the book of Revelation. In the view of Darby and other dispensationalists, God’s whole biblical plan for the end-times is already mapped out in the Old Testament. The entire end-times framework of Darby’s dispensationalist system is based on just three verses at the end of chapter 9 of Daniel! (page 25)
The problem according to Rossing is that the Book of Revelation has been distorted to fit the model of theology instead of the Book itself shaping a model of theology. She points out that no where in the text does the word “Anti Christ” appear as well as there is no mention of the Anti Christ establishing a covenant with Israel and then breaking that covenant. These items have been read into the pages of scripture and made to fit.
Rossing lays out well reasoned arguments on why the message of Revelation is one of hope and not World War III. The message of Revelation is one that is centered in the notion of God’s revealing and redemptive power now, not in some predetermined future date. She writes,
Like the visionary journeys of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, Revelation’s vision of seals, trumpets, bowls, and other manifestations are meant to be a wake-up call. They unveil the urgency of God’s justice and judgment by taking us on terrifying journey, all with the goals of persuading us to ally ourselves with God’s vision for our world. The journeys are not intended as literal predictions of events that must; they are nightmarish warnings of what may happen– if we do not follow God’s nonviolent Lamb. (page 91)
The Book of Revelation has been used as a tool for right action and orthodoxy (correct belief). The mode of thinking is: one does not know when the end of the world will be so you better get right with God or you will witness the destruction of the world. The faithful of God, however, according to dispensational theology, will have a front row view of the end of the world and humanity from Heaven.
Revelation is not a book written to inspire fear or terror. But it is definitely written to increase a sense of urgency for our world. It is an apocalyptic wake-up call for each of us, precisely because there is hope for us and for our world. … Revelation teaches us a fierce, urgent, and wonderful hope– not an easy comfort, but a hope that knows the reality of terror and evil and still can testify to God’s love in the face of that terror. (page 170)
Overall I thought this text was a good overview of the pitfalls of a literal interpretation of Revelation and I believe that the message of hope as laid out in this text is a refreshing one, one that the church needs to hear more of. This type of hopeful theology is one that is not being promoted and propagated in the church today; if it is for may it is falling on deaf ears.
★★★★☆
4 out of 5 stars
Amazon Link
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
I was in Phoenix all of last week. I was attending a retreat for young ministers. The retreat was jam packed and I had little time to check email and did not have any TV access at all. It was only through twitter that I even heard about the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, the shootings in Watertown, the factory explosion in West, TX and the “man hunt.”
As information was flying across the internet I was able to catch a glimpse here and there. As the days progressed and more and more information was being made available it was a difficult pill to swallow. It seemed like it was an unrelenting barrage of tragic events. Some of the people I was with in Phoenix stated that they were glad they were in Arizona during all of this, not because it was away from the action but because they knew they would be glued to their TVs while the events unfolded.
So what can we learn from these events?
First, don’t believe everything you read on the internet or hear on the news. In the first few hours of the bombing and the West explosion, there were so many conflicting reports. News agencies try to get the best information they can but sometimes the first information that is reported is either false or extremely over exaggerated.
Second, the human condition is alive and well. Humans unfortunately at their core have the ability to enact violence and hatred on one another. Whether it is racial tensions, religious objections, ideological differences, humanity can be a viscous beast. When tragedy strikes we reflect on how this could have possibly happened. We begin to think of ways this could have been prevented and sometimes that leaves us feeling empty and agitated. I know this is a dismal view when it comes to humanity, but is something that we as the human race have been trying to fix for millennia. Wars, hatred, violence, genocide and human rights violations are in our past; you don’t have to look that far to find this in history.
However, not all hope is lost. (see below)
Finally, humanity is not as flawed or selfish as we once thought. Yes, I know this might be hard to completely understand given the death in Boston (and the previous point), but I read report after report of first responders and police officers running TOWARD the blast sites in a effort to help others. Even the runners of the marathon continued to run to the local hospital to donate blood for the victims AFTER they had already ran 26.2 miles. Thousands of dollars and hundreds of supplies were collected in the days after both Boston and West. People recognized that those who fell victim to the bombings and accident at the plant did not intend for this to happen. We as a species have a great emotional gift called empathy. Our hearts break when we hear of tragedy and mourn right along with people even if we ourselves are not effected.
For me, the message of the Gospel is more about love and grace and care than anything else. Christ reminds us that his time on this earth is one marked by serving and loving than by being served. Christ’s redemptive and radical message of wholeness and grace is one that should inspire others to do the same. Christ’s message is one of self-lessness; it is a message that makes us look outside of ourselves to facilitate a world where peace, love and justice reign.
Maybe Rev. David is right… if the message of the Gospel of love and wholeness can not be shown in times of uncertainty and instability then maybe we should close up shop. However, Christian’s from all walks of life clung to the notion of God being ever present in the lives of those effected and walking right beside them.
Come Spirit Come.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Rev. Dr. Evan M. Dolive 