To the Poor in the Spirit, I may not know you, but I know how it starts. A visit to another church, a sentence in a book, a comment on a podcast, an encounter with a classmate, a shared article on Facebook, a changing political stance, a travel experience - whatever it was, something jarred the…
Continue reading ➞ The Divinity of Doubt: A Letter to Those Who Struggle to Believe
The guest speaker stands behind the podium. A clear pitcher of water sits on a stool at his side. Our youth group listens with rapt attention. The guest speaker is talking about sex. He invites three boys to the front and tells them to spit into the water pitcher. Like, really spit. To make it…
Continue reading ➞ Dispatches From Purity Culture: How Sexual Shame Overtook a Generation
A long time ago, I used to believe God hated the world. I wouldn't have quite put it in those terms, but the God I heard about was God who was merely biding his time before "rapturing" all the "true Christians" and pouring out his wrath and judgment upon the Earth. For those who don't…
Continue reading ➞ At the End of the World: Leaving Behind the Rapture and the Cult of Apocalypse
The Old Testament is a formidable beast. Maybe you're discouraged by the mind-numbing genealogies, dietary restrictions, temple blueprints, and obscure prophecies. Or, maybe you're turned off by the graphic violence and apparent endorsement of slavery and oppression against women. Or, you're tripped up because no one in the Old Testament seems concerned about the afterlife.…
The Talmud - a vast collection of ancient Jewish laws and traditions - said it's better to "burn the Torah [the first five books of the Bible] than it was to teach it to a woman." Saint Clement, considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church, said, "Every woman ought to be overcome with…
Continue reading ➞ Unveiled: Women, Misogyny, the Bible and Church
In April 2018, fashion magazine GQ posted an article titled "21 Books You Don't Have to Read" and listed the Bible in their number 12 spot. Obviously, "the editors of GQ" are not the gatekeepers of literary excellence (Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in…
Fundamentalism wasn't pressed upon me as a child. No, I chose it for myself. While I did grow up in a Christian household, my dogmatic approach to faith was more a result of a well-intentioned - but misguided - attempt to be recognized as the smartest person in the room. I also loved to read.…
Continue reading ➞ A Love Letter (and Warning) to Progressive Christianity
Another day, another reason to be outraged. No matter your position on the political spectrum, you're more than likely mad at somebody. Being angry, frustrated, or stressed out are our country's new favorite pastimes. Nothing brings people closer together quite like a shared enemy. But what if we're wrong? What if the problem isn't top-down,…
Only two out of ten millennials believe Church attendance is important or worthwhile. According to a Barna research study, the top three reasons people chose to no longer attend church are: They find God elsewhere (39%) It's not relevant to my life (35%) It's boring (31%) We are a generation born into of world of…
We need to start listening. Too often, we dismiss those leaving the Church as outliers, or unfaithful prodigals. We rarely take the time to listen to their grievances, or if we do we simply chalk up their exodus to moral failure, lackluster devotion, or compromised allegiance. But maybe some of it is our fault. Maybe…
Continue reading ➞ The Lost Voices: Stories from the DeChurched
Instrument of Mercy 