Posts
What Church People Need To Know About Those Who’ve Left
This message is for Church People. It’s for those of you who are part of a faith community every week; a physical place where you usually find yourself on Sundays.
3 Reasons “Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin” Is An Abomination
Love the sinner, hate the sin. Rarely in history has there been a greater mischaracterization of the heart of Jesus or a more egregious bastardization of the Bible than these six words. The damage
A Message To The Church of The Hurting
Everyone you meet is broken. Whether you realize it or not, every single day you rub shoulders with people in great pain. They are among the growing multitude of walking wounded in your
Stop Apologizing For Your Faith (Or Your Lack Of It)
For nearly two decades I’ve served as a pastor to both local and online faith communities, unpacking lots and lots of God stuff with folks from all over the world. Each day I spend
Dear Teenager,
Dear Teenager, I’m really hoping this reaches you. Maybe you’ll come across it in your social media travels or someone will tag you next week or send it to you
Thank You For Bleeding: A Love Letter To Writers
There’s something all writers know, something that those who don’t write will never truly understand: To write, is to bleed. The act of regularly opening yourself up in full view of
Evangelical Christianity's Love Affair With Ronda Rousey Reveals Its Hypocrisy
For a while now, I’ve witnessed my Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters bowing at the sacred altar of Ronda Rousey. I’ve watched them genuflect in reverence at her growing legacy of domination in
Are We All Selectively Pro-Life?
Life. At times we all find ourselves compelled to vigorously defend it, while at other times showing complete and willful ambivalence toward it. There is for each of us an alarm that
Pastor, Be Brave.
Pastor, be brave. Believe me, I know it isn’t easy. I never wanted to be a pastor myself. Twenty years ago I was drafted, pulled into ministry later in life while
On Learning To Love Offensively (For Those Weary From The Fight)
This is getting simpler. I’ve recently found a clearing of sorts; a place where my mind and my spirit are finding peace and rest no matter how loud and ugly things
Christian Parents, Here's Why Your Child Coming Out To You Is Great News
So, Christian Mom or Dad, your child has come out to you as LGBTQ. Whether this news comes completely out of the blue or whether you saw it coming for a
Stepping Into The Minefield (To Those Who Love A Depressed Person)
Life with depression is precarious business. It’s like living full-time in a minefield. You never quite get comfortable with your surroundings, even when things seem quiet. You always move gingerly,
Funeral For A Friend (The Death of Bill Cosby)
This feels a lot like a funeral. I grew up with Bill Cosby. Not with the man, per se but with the man’s work. His stand-up records were the continual
Is Nana Really Burning In Hell Right Now?
Today we remember Nana. Nana was a sweet lady. She adored her grandkids, loved hosting big family gatherings on Sunday afternoons, and always looked forward to her Tuesday mornings preparing breakfast for the residents
Happy Interdependence Day
Freedom is a really nice illusion. The idea of individual autonomy is one fought for every single day in my country, and I suspect in yours as well. It’s the public
6 Ways Christians Lost This Week
We who call ourselves Christians lost a great deal over the past few days, though it’s probably not in the way you might think. 1) We lost the chance to
Somewhere After The Rainbow (Moving Beyond Profile Pics)
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Marriage finally came down last week—and both Hell and Heaven broke loose, depending on your perspective. Exhilaration soon followed for those seeing this as a long overdue
The True Story of Today in America (The SCOTUS Ruling and Marriage Equality)
We all have stories we like to tell ourselves; narratives we create to frame the world around us. Those stories often help cushion the blows and soften the impact when things
Is Religion A Failed Experiment?
Some days I’m afraid that I may be losing faith in Faith. I look around at the damage done in the name of God and the grief just comes like a flood. Lately I find
If I Have LGBTQ Children (Four Promises From A Christian Pastor and Parent)
Sometimes I wonder if I’ll have LGBTQ children. I’m not sure if other parents think about this, but I do quite often. Maybe it’s because I have many gay people
For Better Or For A Lot Worse (Wedding Vows For The Long Haul)
Serving as a pastor for the last 17 years, I’ve had the privilege of getting a front row seat to many people’s marriages; sharing in the expectant hope of preparation,
One Last PB & J: Pondering My Mortality Between Two Pieces of Bread
Every day I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I assure you this is not exaggeration or hyperbole. I’m talkin’ every. single. day. I’ve done this for at least the past
Why We're Going To Talk About Racism and Guns and Flags and Privilege… Now.
America, we need to talk. We need to talk about a lot of things. We need to talk about racism, and gun violence, and manipulative media, and Confederate flags, and partisan
Father’s Day Without My Father
“I don’t have a dad anymore.” Those very words popped into my head in the seconds after I found out my father had died. It took me a while to realize how
What Church People Need To Know About Those Who’ve Left
This message is for Church People. It’s for those of you who are part of a faith community every week; a physical place where you usually find yourself on Sundays.
3 Reasons “Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin” Is An Abomination
Love the sinner, hate the sin. Rarely in history has there been a greater mischaracterization of the heart of Jesus or a more egregious bastardization of the Bible than these six words. The damage
A Message To The Church of The Hurting
Everyone you meet is broken. Whether you realize it or not, every single day you rub shoulders with people in great pain. They are among the growing multitude of walking wounded in your
Stop Apologizing For Your Faith (Or Your Lack Of It)
For nearly two decades I’ve served as a pastor to both local and online faith communities, unpacking lots and lots of God stuff with folks from all over the world. Each day I spend
Dear Teenager,
Dear Teenager, I’m really hoping this reaches you. Maybe you’ll come across it in your social media travels or someone will tag you next week or send it to you
Thank You For Bleeding: A Love Letter To Writers
There’s something all writers know, something that those who don’t write will never truly understand: To write, is to bleed. The act of regularly opening yourself up in full view of
Evangelical Christianity's Love Affair With Ronda Rousey Reveals Its Hypocrisy
For a while now, I’ve witnessed my Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters bowing at the sacred altar of Ronda Rousey. I’ve watched them genuflect in reverence at her growing legacy of domination in
Are We All Selectively Pro-Life?
Life. At times we all find ourselves compelled to vigorously defend it, while at other times showing complete and willful ambivalence toward it. There is for each of us an alarm that
Pastor, Be Brave.
Pastor, be brave. Believe me, I know it isn’t easy. I never wanted to be a pastor myself. Twenty years ago I was drafted, pulled into ministry later in life while
On Learning To Love Offensively (For Those Weary From The Fight)
This is getting simpler. I’ve recently found a clearing of sorts; a place where my mind and my spirit are finding peace and rest no matter how loud and ugly things
Christian Parents, Here's Why Your Child Coming Out To You Is Great News
So, Christian Mom or Dad, your child has come out to you as LGBTQ. Whether this news comes completely out of the blue or whether you saw it coming for a
Stepping Into The Minefield (To Those Who Love A Depressed Person)
Life with depression is precarious business. It’s like living full-time in a minefield. You never quite get comfortable with your surroundings, even when things seem quiet. You always move gingerly,
Funeral For A Friend (The Death of Bill Cosby)
This feels a lot like a funeral. I grew up with Bill Cosby. Not with the man, per se but with the man’s work. His stand-up records were the continual
Is Nana Really Burning In Hell Right Now?
Today we remember Nana. Nana was a sweet lady. She adored her grandkids, loved hosting big family gatherings on Sunday afternoons, and always looked forward to her Tuesday mornings preparing breakfast for the residents
Happy Interdependence Day
Freedom is a really nice illusion. The idea of individual autonomy is one fought for every single day in my country, and I suspect in yours as well. It’s the public
6 Ways Christians Lost This Week
We who call ourselves Christians lost a great deal over the past few days, though it’s probably not in the way you might think. 1) We lost the chance to
Somewhere After The Rainbow (Moving Beyond Profile Pics)
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Marriage finally came down last week—and both Hell and Heaven broke loose, depending on your perspective. Exhilaration soon followed for those seeing this as a long overdue
The True Story of Today in America (The SCOTUS Ruling and Marriage Equality)
We all have stories we like to tell ourselves; narratives we create to frame the world around us. Those stories often help cushion the blows and soften the impact when things
Is Religion A Failed Experiment?
Some days I’m afraid that I may be losing faith in Faith. I look around at the damage done in the name of God and the grief just comes like a flood. Lately I find
If I Have LGBTQ Children (Four Promises From A Christian Pastor and Parent)
Sometimes I wonder if I’ll have LGBTQ children. I’m not sure if other parents think about this, but I do quite often. Maybe it’s because I have many gay people
For Better Or For A Lot Worse (Wedding Vows For The Long Haul)
Serving as a pastor for the last 17 years, I’ve had the privilege of getting a front row seat to many people’s marriages; sharing in the expectant hope of preparation,
One Last PB & J: Pondering My Mortality Between Two Pieces of Bread
Every day I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I assure you this is not exaggeration or hyperbole. I’m talkin’ every. single. day. I’ve done this for at least the past
Why We're Going To Talk About Racism and Guns and Flags and Privilege… Now.
America, we need to talk. We need to talk about a lot of things. We need to talk about racism, and gun violence, and manipulative media, and Confederate flags, and partisan
Father’s Day Without My Father
“I don’t have a dad anymore.” Those very words popped into my head in the seconds after I found out my father had died. It took me a while to realize how