If you listen to Christian music or watched American Idol back in the day, you know Mandisa. She is a power house singer, faithful Believer, and a savvy business woman.  She is also single.

On her YouTube show “What If We Were Real?”, the recent topic has been about dating and relationships. As a single woman, Mandisa wanted to bring together some of her close trusted friends to talk relationships and gain some insight. Well, there was A LOT of discussion and there are now ten 20-30 minute episodes… with more coming! I thought it would be fun to watch (which it was!), yet I had no idea the knowledge that would be dropped! The conversations were so refreshing and honest.

Working in ministry to women and being one of the only single women in my tribe, the conversations sparked something in me that I now realize is missing  – I miss open, honest conversations about God, life, and love with male and female participants!

It also sparked in me the reminder that the Church does not do well in open dialogue about the topics of singleness, dating, and marriage. It is often slanted into extremes and compartmentalized. Life is simply far more multifaceted. If I asked friends or put out a request for you to speak into this, the fact would be clear – we need more safe spaces for open dialogue in the Church. (This is a whole other topic to dive deeper into another time!!)

If you are interested in engaging these topics and searching your heart for how you respond, I highly recommend watching. I also recommend gathering a group of trusted friends to watch episodes together and then chat about your thoughts.

I will say, this truly is a group of friends gathering together for conversation. No one in the episodes is a “relationship expert” (who is?!), so you may not agree with some opinions. Even more so, I think that is why you should check out an episode or two. Often listening to someone in opposition of your opinion helps you to either confirm your thoughts or see from a new perspective.

You can gain access to all of the videos by clicking on the first one above. The title of each episode:

1. Do Men Want To Be Pursued?
2. Where Have All The Good Men Gone?
3. What Are You Thinking?
4. Let’s Talk About Sex
5. Let’s Get Physical
6. You Da Man
7. Unequally Yoked
8. Interracial Dating
9. Why Can’t We Be Friends?
10. Unboxing God

So, get your comfy clothes on, grab some popcorn and your favorite drink, and enjoy watching “What If We Were Real?”

Let me know what you think!

If you want check out music from Mandisa: http://mandisaofficial.com/