Posts
Moments To Impact: Life, In The Seconds Before All Hell Breaks Loose
Death is a collision; the most violent, invasive, brutal impact the heart can ever encounter. It’s a savage, jarring, soul-wallop, that doesn’t just injure you, it alters you; permanently. Anyone who has lost someone
The Jesus Mafia: Christian Intolerance To Criticism (And Why You Never Go Against The Family)
“Don’t ever take sides against the family.” – Michael Corleone There’s always a price to pay for talking about stuff that matters, and that’s especially true when doing it in the public arena. You
The Pretty Prison: The Father Of A Daughter, Ponders The Weight Of A Word
Our words matter. For someone who communicates for a living, it’s a constant, ever-present truth. Words don’t just express the thoughts of the speaker, they form thoughts in the hearer. When people say
Church, Here’s Why People Are Leaving You. Part 2
“It’s not you, it’s me.” That’s what you seem to be saying, Church. I tried to share my heart with you; the heart of me and thousands and thousands of
Whitewashed Dreams: Why Ferguson Is My Fault
Ferguson is burning and I have no right to be outraged. I have no right to raise my hands for a Facebook photo op, or to scream at the TV,
Slinging Stones At Giants (Why It’s Perfectly Fine To Celebrate The Fall Of Mark Driscoll)
Sometimes the giants fall. Sometimes, they need to. Over the past few weeks, the ministry of megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll began crumbling dramatically and swiftly, but to many, it was
Church, Here’s Why People Are Leaving You. Part 1
Being on the other side of the Exodus sucks, doesn’t it? I see the panic on your face, Church. I know the internal terror as you see the statistics and hear
To My Hurting Friend: You Are Robin Williams
When I heard the news about Robin Williams’ passing, I felt the same disbelief that millions of people did; that swirling mix of shock and sadness, that sharp sense of
Love The Lines: Living A #NoFilter Life
What you are looking at is not an aerial view of the Grand Canyon. This is a picture of my face, specifically the region right around my eyes; one that explodes
Becoming Parents Worth Picking
I heard former NFL coach Herm Edwards say these words in passing, while talking on a syndicated radio show over a year ago and they’ve been tattooed on my brain
Hugging The Porcupine (A Meditation on Tough Love)
There are lots of animals that are cuddle-worthy; ones you immediately want to grab and squeeze and hold. Porcupines are not normally one of them. Since I was a young
A Faith In Blood and Bone: A Message To Those Hurt By The Church
I may not know you but I know something about you. I know that you’re hurting. I know that you’ve been bruised and battered and wounded, that you’re reeling from the hits and
Why More Christians Should Pray Less (The Sin Of Substitutionary Prayer)
We church folk love, love, LOVE to tell people we’ll pray for them. It’s the quickest, conversation-closing, most religious sounding thing we know we can fire-off in difficult situations, and both
Lessons In The Grief Valley
When my father died suddenly back in September, I began doing what I always do: I started writing. These six posts, (the first one written just three days after his passing,
Blood Breaks Through The Skin: Another Lesson In The Grief Valley
Blood is fascinating. It’s so full of life, so critical to every breath and step; a powerful, perpetual flood, flowing just there beneath the surface of our skin. It’s a
Charlie Brown, Plot Twists, Worse-Case Scenarios… And Faith In A Recalculating God
Have you ever felt like you just missed it? You had a big decision to make; a critical, life-changing, fork-in-the-road choice… and you just flat-out whiffed. (I’m talkin’, Charlie Brown, cartwheeling, air ball,
The Other Side Of Our Absolutes (Why Everyone Else, Might Not Be The Problem)
Recently, in the aftermath of a messy break-up, one of my former students posted the following on her Facebook page: “ALL guys are jerks. They’re ALL out for one thing, and they ALL cheat.” All. That’s a
Protecting Your Heart From The Soulmate Lie
Sometimes our lies come with the best of intentions. We aren’t always given false information by those wanting to deceive or confuse us. We aren’t necessarily being intentionally misled by some sinister adversary lurking in the
The Church Worth Coming Back To (A Message For The Left-Out)
Last year I found myself in frigid, uncharted waters. For the first Sunday in 17 years, I was not on staff at a local church; waking-up without a group of students and families
Guy-nocology: The Fallout From A Man, Challenging Men To Be Men
Mangina. Feminazi. Learning new words can be… fun. Last week I shared a few thoughts about men, and about the need for us to take personal responsibility regarding our interactions with
The Photographs I Missed, Of A Day That I Didn’t
Last weekend we decided to take a spontaneous Saturday trip to the beach, as we’ve recently moved to within a two-hour drive of the North Carolina coast. We woke-up, tossed the
Young Men, Sex, and Urge Ownership (And Why It’s Not The Girl’s Problem)
Your sex drive? It’s about you. I know you’ve been led to believe that everything is the girl’s fault; the way she dresses, the shape of her body, her flirtatious nature,
Personal Jesus: Remaking A God In My Own Image
The more I hang around other people who claim to believe in Jesus; the more I read the stuff they write and hear the things they say, the more I realize
My Wife Is NOT Hot: A Challenge To Men In Ministry On Social Media
For years, it’s been fashionable for pastors to gloat about their wives’ attractiveness on social media. The “My wife is hot” refrain has become so common in modern Church World, that
Moments To Impact: Life, In The Seconds Before All Hell Breaks Loose
Death is a collision; the most violent, invasive, brutal impact the heart can ever encounter. It’s a savage, jarring, soul-wallop, that doesn’t just injure you, it alters you; permanently. Anyone who has lost someone
The Jesus Mafia: Christian Intolerance To Criticism (And Why You Never Go Against The Family)
“Don’t ever take sides against the family.” – Michael Corleone There’s always a price to pay for talking about stuff that matters, and that’s especially true when doing it in the public arena. You
The Pretty Prison: The Father Of A Daughter, Ponders The Weight Of A Word
Our words matter. For someone who communicates for a living, it’s a constant, ever-present truth. Words don’t just express the thoughts of the speaker, they form thoughts in the hearer. When people say
Church, Here’s Why People Are Leaving You. Part 2
“It’s not you, it’s me.” That’s what you seem to be saying, Church. I tried to share my heart with you; the heart of me and thousands and thousands of
Whitewashed Dreams: Why Ferguson Is My Fault
Ferguson is burning and I have no right to be outraged. I have no right to raise my hands for a Facebook photo op, or to scream at the TV,
Slinging Stones At Giants (Why It’s Perfectly Fine To Celebrate The Fall Of Mark Driscoll)
Sometimes the giants fall. Sometimes, they need to. Over the past few weeks, the ministry of megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll began crumbling dramatically and swiftly, but to many, it was
Church, Here’s Why People Are Leaving You. Part 1
Being on the other side of the Exodus sucks, doesn’t it? I see the panic on your face, Church. I know the internal terror as you see the statistics and hear
To My Hurting Friend: You Are Robin Williams
When I heard the news about Robin Williams’ passing, I felt the same disbelief that millions of people did; that swirling mix of shock and sadness, that sharp sense of
Love The Lines: Living A #NoFilter Life
What you are looking at is not an aerial view of the Grand Canyon. This is a picture of my face, specifically the region right around my eyes; one that explodes
Becoming Parents Worth Picking
I heard former NFL coach Herm Edwards say these words in passing, while talking on a syndicated radio show over a year ago and they’ve been tattooed on my brain
Hugging The Porcupine (A Meditation on Tough Love)
There are lots of animals that are cuddle-worthy; ones you immediately want to grab and squeeze and hold. Porcupines are not normally one of them. Since I was a young
A Faith In Blood and Bone: A Message To Those Hurt By The Church
I may not know you but I know something about you. I know that you’re hurting. I know that you’ve been bruised and battered and wounded, that you’re reeling from the hits and
Why More Christians Should Pray Less (The Sin Of Substitutionary Prayer)
We church folk love, love, LOVE to tell people we’ll pray for them. It’s the quickest, conversation-closing, most religious sounding thing we know we can fire-off in difficult situations, and both
Lessons In The Grief Valley
When my father died suddenly back in September, I began doing what I always do: I started writing. These six posts, (the first one written just three days after his passing,
Blood Breaks Through The Skin: Another Lesson In The Grief Valley
Blood is fascinating. It’s so full of life, so critical to every breath and step; a powerful, perpetual flood, flowing just there beneath the surface of our skin. It’s a
Charlie Brown, Plot Twists, Worse-Case Scenarios… And Faith In A Recalculating God
Have you ever felt like you just missed it? You had a big decision to make; a critical, life-changing, fork-in-the-road choice… and you just flat-out whiffed. (I’m talkin’, Charlie Brown, cartwheeling, air ball,
The Other Side Of Our Absolutes (Why Everyone Else, Might Not Be The Problem)
Recently, in the aftermath of a messy break-up, one of my former students posted the following on her Facebook page: “ALL guys are jerks. They’re ALL out for one thing, and they ALL cheat.” All. That’s a
Protecting Your Heart From The Soulmate Lie
Sometimes our lies come with the best of intentions. We aren’t always given false information by those wanting to deceive or confuse us. We aren’t necessarily being intentionally misled by some sinister adversary lurking in the
The Church Worth Coming Back To (A Message For The Left-Out)
Last year I found myself in frigid, uncharted waters. For the first Sunday in 17 years, I was not on staff at a local church; waking-up without a group of students and families
Guy-nocology: The Fallout From A Man, Challenging Men To Be Men
Mangina. Feminazi. Learning new words can be… fun. Last week I shared a few thoughts about men, and about the need for us to take personal responsibility regarding our interactions with
The Photographs I Missed, Of A Day That I Didn’t
Last weekend we decided to take a spontaneous Saturday trip to the beach, as we’ve recently moved to within a two-hour drive of the North Carolina coast. We woke-up, tossed the
Young Men, Sex, and Urge Ownership (And Why It’s Not The Girl’s Problem)
Your sex drive? It’s about you. I know you’ve been led to believe that everything is the girl’s fault; the way she dresses, the shape of her body, her flirtatious nature,
Personal Jesus: Remaking A God In My Own Image
The more I hang around other people who claim to believe in Jesus; the more I read the stuff they write and hear the things they say, the more I realize
My Wife Is NOT Hot: A Challenge To Men In Ministry On Social Media
For years, it’s been fashionable for pastors to gloat about their wives’ attractiveness on social media. The “My wife is hot” refrain has become so common in modern Church World, that