crystal rowe

SERVE Editor

me (crystal rowe)

Who I Am
I am Crystal Rowe. Wife, mother, daughter, friend. I am what some might call a cradle Lutheran, but more importantly, I am a follower of Christ. I strive to live my life in such a way that the love and grace of God shines through me.

Where I’ve Been
Having first experienced God’s call to ministry at the young age of 16, I went to college as a Theology major with the intention of going to seminary to focus on Youth & Family Ministry. Throughout my college years I had various experiences which made me believe that “the church” is not true to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ – the one we claim to follow. I thought that I could do real ministry better in the world instead of from the pulpit and went to law school.

The deep sense of call I experienced at 16 never left me, and I spent my law school years trying to figure out how to say yes to God’s call while not going to work for the church. After practicing law for just over a year, I was let go due to financial restraints on the firm. Although it seemed at that moment as though my life was falling apart, I also felt a huge sense of relief – like God had given me an opportunity to jump off the ledge and trust that he would lead me in the direction he had prepared for me.

Taking the biggest leap of faith in my life, I moved to Atlanta in search of a new job. For three years, I served as Director of Children & Youth Ministries at a wonderful congregation in Marietta. It was an amazing experience and a great joy to finally be doing that which God has created me to do. Although I am no longer working full time, this season in my life allowed me to truly discover how God works through me.

Some time ago, I also discovered God had created me with the gift of writing and a deep desire to make a difference in the life of the church. Armed with this discovery, I began Soul Munchies – a blog that attempts to tackle tough questions of how the church and our Christian faith can be relevant in our culture and society.

Where I’m Going
I am a dreamer. I want to be part of something big. I want to change the world. I want to surround myself with people who are also dreamers, who also want to be part of something big, who also want to change the world.

I am honored to be an editor here at Bibledude.net. Dan King, the original BibleDude, is one of my greatest mentors and inspirations when it comes to writing and living out our Christian faith. I look forward to the many conversations that we, the Bibledude.net community, embark on and the discoveries that we will make together.

Living in God’s Amazing Grace,
Crystal Rowe

Facebook: Crystal Rowe
Facebook Fan Page: Soul Munchies
Twitter: @soulmunchies



BibleDude.net » Crystal Rowe - read. pray. serve.
Three months ago my outlook on life completely changed. I had no idea becoming a parent would make me reconsider so many things I held to be true. In particular, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how Jesus lived his life. On the streets. Hanging out with the rejects. [...]
This year, I will celebrate my first Mother’s Day as a Mom. As the day approaches, I can’t help but think about how lucky I am. I am healthy, loved, and my every need is provided for. But not all mothers can say the same thing. There’s the young mom [...]
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 I grew up in the church. Sunday school, [...]
It’s Wednesday evening and you’ve got a big presentation Thursday afternoon. You go to your closet to discover the outfit you want to wear is dirty. “That’s okay” you think, “I’ll just wash it.” But just after you start the load, your washing machine breaks. So you pull the load [...]
[becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus] I’ve contemplated leaving church. Numerous times. Why, you might ask? Because all too often church is not about following Christ. It’s about making people happy. All too often the leadership makes decisions based on what people will “like.” Will it make someone angry [...]


Soul MunchiesSoul Munchies | Soul Munchies - Real Culture, Real Faith, Real Life
We have discovered the beauty of the farmer’s market. Strawberries, carrots, farm fresh eggs, pastured pork sausage, broccoli, spinach, garlic … it’s a beautiful thing really. We have, for several months now, gotten fresh produce delivered to us from Nature’s Garden Delivered. We’ve alternated between mixed boxes, fruit boxes, and veggie boxes – finally settling on a all-veggie box as our primary selection. We can exchange three items each week, so we add some fruit in that way. Overall it’s been great for us … we have tried lots of new veggies just because we couldn’t make any more exchanges! Best of all – D discovered veggies weren’t as bad as he once thought they were. But the farmer’s market is just so much more fun… Baby girl seems to like the market too. We carry her around in the Ergo and she makes friends with whoever she meets. Even when they think she’s a boy! So we’ve decided to make the farmer’s market a weekly outing. It may be the only place we can actually find milk from grass-fed cows and true free range eggs that eat nothing but seeds and bugs. And the strawberries … oh man … [...]
I have a thing for love songs with double meanings. When I first heard this song, I thought Jamie was talking about her significant other, and I thought it was so sweet. Then I realized she was talking about God – and I thought it was even more sweet. And then I realized that the best love songs can be sung to that special one in our life AND to God. Because in all actuality, a healthy relationship should model God’s love for us. Plus – this is just a catchy tune for any Monday morning! Enjoy!! Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!
I was so excited when I discovered this cookbook … here it was – a cookbook that was going to make our real food journey so much easier! I had no idea there was a book already out there called Eat Naked – a book that helps people get rid of all the junk in our food.
Three months ago my outlook on life completely changed. I had no idea becoming a parent would make me reconsider so many things I held to be true. In particular, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how Jesus lived his life. On the streets. Hanging out with the rejects. Stirring up trouble. Making all sorts of people angry. Then I think about his call to each of us. The call to pick up our cross and follow him. The call to leave our family behind. The call to make him our #1 priority. And then I get scared. Terrified in fact. To read the rest of this post, come join me over at Bibledude.net.
Oh yes … we made jam this weekend. Unfortunately our farmer’s market didn’t have any strawberries Saturday morning, but Whole Foods had some local strawberries on sale … so we bought 4 pounds and decided to try our luck at it. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be. I think the most difficult part was waiting for it to cool so we could try it out! We thought we’d share our helpful hints if you decide to try it yourself. If you only use 3 pounds of strawberries, make sure you half the honey too! Yeah … that’s right … we halved the amount of strawberries, but I put in the entire amount of honey. And I didn’t even realize it until the next day. It’s delicious … but sweet. And it took waaaaay longer to cook down thanks to the extra liquid. Sterilize more jars than you think will be necessary. We ended up with 3 1/2 pints (7 jars) but had only sterilized 6. So we were scrambling around at the last minute trying to get another jar sterilized and prepped. Thank goodness for the bottle sterilizing bags! You must have the canning kit. [...]