Mel Kulenski

Mel Kulenski

The Shame Gospel

Christian communities may have implicitly taught us that our faith is at odds with normative human development. We’ve been bombarded by a theology that’s conditioned us to believe our natural selves will never be enough; making shame, guilt, and mistrust fester. But what would it look like to build a theology based on theories about healthy human development, drawing from the work of famous psychoanalyist Erik Erikson?

Mel Kulenski

Mel Kulenski

What if Jesus Was Neurodivergent

In our neurotypical, ableist world, the baseline assumption might be that Jesus didn’t have a single diagnosis. But what if Jesus was neurodivergent? What if scripture makes a compelling case that Jesus hyperfocused on special interests, didn’t always understand social norms, and had noticeable sensory differences? Let’s explore traits of Jesus that can sometimes show up in neurodivergent folks: ADHD’ers, Autistics, those with sensory processing differences, and more.