Soon we're going to be starting a new teaching series at Zolder50.  We don't always have cool names for the overarching series (or for the individual messages, for that matter) -- but basically we're going to be talking about Biblical Sexuality.  I think it's going to be a super-interesting, super-relevant (though potentially controversial) theme for our church to explore.  Hopefully, we will succeed in addressing the issues without trading too much in stereotypes (either falling into the traps of "us," Christians stereotyping the problems of "them," the sinful world -- or playing into the straw-man stereotypes that the world has of Christians).  But it will, of course, be an exercise in faith and careful study of the Bible.  Yesterday, Todd and I sketched out a plan together for the series, which will basically progress as follows:

• Introduction (Why talk about sexuality?)
• Biblical Masculinity (two weeks)
• Biblical Femininity (two weeks)
• Singleness/Celibacy
• Homosexuality
• Dating and Relationships
• Marriage and Family

Hopefully others will be as excited about this series as Todd and I are!

What's particularly interesting to me about this series, though, are the topics which I will be attempting to cover in this rotation:  Biblical Femininity, Singleness/Celibacy, and Marriage and Family.  The Marriage and Family one doesn't have as much of a potential to raise eyebrows, I suppose -- but the other two certainly do, as I am neither Single nor Female!  As Todd and I talked about it, we felt that we wanted to make sure that we didn't just pawn these issues off to people in the church who fit the particular categories, effectively washing our hands of the issue because they didn't "fall under our jurisdiction."  On the contrary, as pastors for the church, we wanted to directly and deliberately get our hands dirty, digging into these particular issues which can so often be disregarded by male, married leaders.  So I'm actually kind of glad that I'll personally get to tackle these topics within the series.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not anxious about the potential land-mines caused by having a married man trying to meaningfully examine the real day-to-day issues of women and single people!

So I want to ask for your help:  particularly those of you out there who are not married, and who are of the feminine persuasion.  What issues would you want to hear covered in a Biblical discussion of Singleness?  Or Femininity?  Do you have any recommended resources for me?  Particular books, articles, websites?  My first teaching is still about six weeks away, so I have plenty of time to consider different resources and shape the teachings in ways that would be most meaningful for a single woman... or a single man... or a married woman... or whomever!  But I would greatly appreciate it if those of you who happen to fall into these categories could help me to prepare a bit.  Just leave a comment and let me know what you think.  Thanks.