We need to be known

I’m tickled that several people enjoyed (and unfortunately could relate to!) my last post about the struggles of online dating. It stinks! So why do I and so many others choose to put ourselves through such an ordeal? The obvious answer is because we hold out some amount of hope that we can find someone […]

The Kingdom of God is inherently political

What is our primary role as Christians? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20, NRSV) The Great Commission implies our job is to mold […]

A Christian voting reminder

I have some thoughts to share as a Christian as we in America brace for the results of another presidential election. First, while it’s true that the writers of the New Testament had no direct familiarity with voting as a way of running a civil government (and therefore Paul’s admonition in Romans 13 to be […]

Seeking authentic church

I’ve mentioned several times over the years how I’ve struggled with (and have now reached a point where I’m pretty tired of) “doing” church like most Americans do. What I mean by that is I have a hard time with how most American worship services are structured and how the different aspects function. As I […]

I’m Sorry: My mistakes as a church planter

If your experience as a Christian isn’t a humbling one, you might be doing it wrong. Over the many years now I’ve been journeying with Christ and the Church, the most consistent single theme that seems to resurface for me are the varieties of ways I’ve been wrong: I’ve been wrong about how spiritually and […]

The weight of being single

Anyone who knows me well (or has read my book – buy and/or review it here) knows I’ve been single my whole life, and that fact used to depress me a lot. When I was younger, I was obsessed with being married, and I thought my happiness was contingent on it. For many reasons, though, […]

“I Love Jesus, but I Hate the Church”

Man, can I relate to this sentiment. I’ve had a rocky relationship with a handful of churches. Several of my friends have been abused in a variety of ways by different ones – emotionally, relationally, spiritually. Physical abuse by churches is often plastered on the news. Many (maybe even most) churches are broken. When we’ve […]