Posts

6 Reasons Stone-Throwing Christians May Need To Retire "Go And Sin No More"
It’s one of the classic contemporary go-to Christian social media rebuttals. Whenever two followers of Jesus are engaged in a debate about showing love to all people, and whether love is love or love

Why Divorced, Straight Christians Should Kiss The LGBT Community
If I had a dime for every preacher who stood on a pulpit or behind a radio station microphone or on a street corner and blasted gay people for “threatening the

Why Your Critics (And Your Cheerleaders) Shouldn’t Define You
Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others. – Groucho Marx. Though we might not verbalize it quite this way, most of us split the world

Why Prayer Is A Really Lousy Middle Finger
Let’s say that I’m looking to get away with murder. If I have a cute, fuzzy, smiley face pillow, and in a reckless fit of rage use it to suffocate someone, killing them

Dear Youth Pastor (Because You Have LGBTQ Students In Your Youth Group)
Dear Youth Pastor, I get you. I mean, I totally get you. I’ve spent nearly the last two decades neck-deep in the loud, stinking, glorious, electrifying trenches of

A Song That God Wrote: My Several Failed Attempts At Atheism
I confess that I’m a Christian who often envies Atheists. As the blog has reached a larger audience, I’ve been extremely grateful that so many of the people who connect
Gold And White Or Blue and Black: What #Dressgate Teaches Us About How We See God
“I just don’t see how anyone can’t see what I can see.” I heard that more than a few times this week, and wondered why it sounded so familiar. A few

Why The Bible Shouldn't Be Worshiped
The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it. You’ve heard that phrase before. You’ve read it on bumper stickers. You may have even said it a time

The Building With The Biggest Doors (A Parable For The Church)
One day, a boy was walking through the town with his father, just as they did every Sunday morning. He so enjoyed their walks. The boy held his father’s hand as they traveled from

Blood For Blood (Christians, Jesus, and Violence in the Face of the IS)
“I want blood.” “It’s time to nuke the whole damn area.” “We need to turn the Middle East into a parking lot.” “Burn every last one of ’em.” These aren’t

How You Die When Someone You Love Dies
At one time or another you’ve probably heard someone say that when a person you love dies, a part of you dies too. I used to think that was just

Shouting Into The Wind: Words From The Hearts Of Christian Moms With LGBTQ Children
A while ago I sat down on a quiet Wednesday morning to write this blog post, sharing how I would respond if I found out that my children were LGBTQ. My hope was to try

Shouting Into The Wind: Words From The Hearts Of Christian Moms With LGBT Children
Five months ago I sat down on a quiet Wednesday morning to write this blog post, sharing how I would respond if I found out that my children were gay. My hope was

What Many Christians Can’t See About The Culture War
Words are really funny things. If we misuse them long enough, our familiarity can begin to fool us and we gradually go a bit blind. Over time, we can come to

5 Ways To Avoid Your Own Valentine’s Day Massacre
Do you smell that? It’s that magical time of year again; when massive, heart-shaped boxes of overpriced chocolates line the entry way to every supermarket, drug store, and gas station; when renegade roadside

Secession From The Church (To Christians Who Stay Home On Sundays)
“Church isn’t for me anymore.” I know those words so well because I hear them every single day in some form or another; in emails, late night Skype sessions, and midday

The One Question Christians Need To Stop Asking People, When Their Loved One Dies
Two days after my father died, I was walking into my church and ran into a good friend. She hugged me and expressed how sorry she was for my loss.

Faitheism: The Shared Sacred Ground Of All Doubting Believers And Believing Doubters
There’s a dangerous and popular myth about religious faith, that says you either have it, or you don’t. Even if we don’t consciously choose to, most of us probably see spirituality this

Sorry To Rainbow On Your Parade (A Pastor Exposes The Gay Agenda)
Brace yourselves and gird your loins, true believers; I come with earth-shattering news. I’ve long heard rumors of the gay community’s insidious master plan to contaminate and corrupt our sweet cisgender-hetero setup here on

Stand Up, Straight Christians. It's Time For You To Come Out Of The Closet.
“I’ve been a Christian my entire life and I’ve never been able to ask these questions because I feared how I’d be treated in my church. Reading your writing today gave me permission

Questions Christians Can’t Ask, Vol.1: “Do We Worship A Grudge-Holding God?”
Some days faith is easy; days when everything seems to make sense, when what you believe feels natural and beautiful and life-giving. Then there are other days. On those days the whole system

10 Things Christian Parents Can Do When Their Kids Come Out
You have a gay child. I know that it may be nearly impossible to say or understand or even believe, but you do. Christian Mom and Dad, remember everything you

The Greatest Idol Of Evangelical Christianity
Idolatry is a horrible, dangerous thing. Sadly, far too many Christians are so very guilty of it. You can see it in the way they complain on social media, in

Singing Songs With Unicorns: My Weekend With LGBTQ Christians
There are moments when you’re absolutely sure that you’re standing on holy ground, times when you feel the awe of something so big and so real, that you’re driven to your knees

6 Reasons Stone-Throwing Christians May Need To Retire "Go And Sin No More"
It’s one of the classic contemporary go-to Christian social media rebuttals. Whenever two followers of Jesus are engaged in a debate about showing love to all people, and whether love is love or love

Why Divorced, Straight Christians Should Kiss The LGBT Community
If I had a dime for every preacher who stood on a pulpit or behind a radio station microphone or on a street corner and blasted gay people for “threatening the

Why Your Critics (And Your Cheerleaders) Shouldn’t Define You
Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others. – Groucho Marx. Though we might not verbalize it quite this way, most of us split the world

Why Prayer Is A Really Lousy Middle Finger
Let’s say that I’m looking to get away with murder. If I have a cute, fuzzy, smiley face pillow, and in a reckless fit of rage use it to suffocate someone, killing them

Dear Youth Pastor (Because You Have LGBTQ Students In Your Youth Group)
Dear Youth Pastor, I get you. I mean, I totally get you. I’ve spent nearly the last two decades neck-deep in the loud, stinking, glorious, electrifying trenches of

A Song That God Wrote: My Several Failed Attempts At Atheism
I confess that I’m a Christian who often envies Atheists. As the blog has reached a larger audience, I’ve been extremely grateful that so many of the people who connect
Gold And White Or Blue and Black: What #Dressgate Teaches Us About How We See God
“I just don’t see how anyone can’t see what I can see.” I heard that more than a few times this week, and wondered why it sounded so familiar. A few

Why The Bible Shouldn't Be Worshiped
The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it. You’ve heard that phrase before. You’ve read it on bumper stickers. You may have even said it a time

The Building With The Biggest Doors (A Parable For The Church)
One day, a boy was walking through the town with his father, just as they did every Sunday morning. He so enjoyed their walks. The boy held his father’s hand as they traveled from

Blood For Blood (Christians, Jesus, and Violence in the Face of the IS)
“I want blood.” “It’s time to nuke the whole damn area.” “We need to turn the Middle East into a parking lot.” “Burn every last one of ’em.” These aren’t

How You Die When Someone You Love Dies
At one time or another you’ve probably heard someone say that when a person you love dies, a part of you dies too. I used to think that was just

Shouting Into The Wind: Words From The Hearts Of Christian Moms With LGBTQ Children
A while ago I sat down on a quiet Wednesday morning to write this blog post, sharing how I would respond if I found out that my children were LGBTQ. My hope was to try

Shouting Into The Wind: Words From The Hearts Of Christian Moms With LGBT Children
Five months ago I sat down on a quiet Wednesday morning to write this blog post, sharing how I would respond if I found out that my children were gay. My hope was

What Many Christians Can’t See About The Culture War
Words are really funny things. If we misuse them long enough, our familiarity can begin to fool us and we gradually go a bit blind. Over time, we can come to

5 Ways To Avoid Your Own Valentine’s Day Massacre
Do you smell that? It’s that magical time of year again; when massive, heart-shaped boxes of overpriced chocolates line the entry way to every supermarket, drug store, and gas station; when renegade roadside

Secession From The Church (To Christians Who Stay Home On Sundays)
“Church isn’t for me anymore.” I know those words so well because I hear them every single day in some form or another; in emails, late night Skype sessions, and midday

The One Question Christians Need To Stop Asking People, When Their Loved One Dies
Two days after my father died, I was walking into my church and ran into a good friend. She hugged me and expressed how sorry she was for my loss.

Faitheism: The Shared Sacred Ground Of All Doubting Believers And Believing Doubters
There’s a dangerous and popular myth about religious faith, that says you either have it, or you don’t. Even if we don’t consciously choose to, most of us probably see spirituality this

Sorry To Rainbow On Your Parade (A Pastor Exposes The Gay Agenda)
Brace yourselves and gird your loins, true believers; I come with earth-shattering news. I’ve long heard rumors of the gay community’s insidious master plan to contaminate and corrupt our sweet cisgender-hetero setup here on

Stand Up, Straight Christians. It's Time For You To Come Out Of The Closet.
“I’ve been a Christian my entire life and I’ve never been able to ask these questions because I feared how I’d be treated in my church. Reading your writing today gave me permission

Questions Christians Can’t Ask, Vol.1: “Do We Worship A Grudge-Holding God?”
Some days faith is easy; days when everything seems to make sense, when what you believe feels natural and beautiful and life-giving. Then there are other days. On those days the whole system

10 Things Christian Parents Can Do When Their Kids Come Out
You have a gay child. I know that it may be nearly impossible to say or understand or even believe, but you do. Christian Mom and Dad, remember everything you

The Greatest Idol Of Evangelical Christianity
Idolatry is a horrible, dangerous thing. Sadly, far too many Christians are so very guilty of it. You can see it in the way they complain on social media, in

Singing Songs With Unicorns: My Weekend With LGBTQ Christians
There are moments when you’re absolutely sure that you’re standing on holy ground, times when you feel the awe of something so big and so real, that you’re driven to your knees