Hello, my friends, You may have seen a headline or two about Trump shifting his position on abortion in recent weeks. Naturally, this has caused a lot of fractures within the pro-life movement. While others are discussing the political ramifications of these recent events, as a pastor, I wanted to invite us to think about the beliefs around the topic of abortion itself and how these beliefs influence how we understand and engage the issues as Christians. I think this deeply matters if we do...
7 days ago • 13 min read
Hello, my friends, No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, followers of Jesus face the same question: what should our relationship look like with political power? That is the question I want to ponder with you today through the lens of Jesus' interaction with Peter in Matthew 16:13-28. But first, here are some resources to consider: -Tracking Attitudes About Elections and Political Violence Over Time, by States United Democracy Center. The data in this recent survey is incredibly...
14 days ago • 11 min read
Hello, my friends, You have probably noticed how a lot of scriptures are used to justify Christian Nationalism. Interestingly, it seems to take a hyper focus on many Old Testament laws than it does anything else. Hence the preoccupation with the Ten Commandments being posted in public places, rather than say Jesus' sermon on the mount. The one passage it does use from Jesus often is the Great Commission, where Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples of all "nations." The word...
21 days ago • 8 min read
Hello, my friends, The question I probably get the most from my readers lately is about the theological beliefs around the deification of politicians. Specifically, Donald Trump. To be honest, I have hesitated to write about this for a long time for two main reasons. I think there needs to be more nuance and complexity taken into consideration between why a particular individual Christian would support Donald Trump, which may be different from the reasons why an entire broader theological...
28 days ago • 16 min read
Hello, my friends, I’m sure many of you saw the backlash online over several things this last week during the Olympics. If your experience was like mine, many of the posts you saw were from people claiming to be Christian. From the outrage over the opening ceremonies to the controversy over boxing, we saw many who claim to follow Jesus post such hurtful and mean-spirited things. Today I want to think with you about some of the things that this kind of outrage tells us about our collective...
about 1 month ago • 11 min read
Hello my friends, Anyone else need a break from breaking news? It feels like every week brings with it yet another "unprecedented" event. With this being the case, I wanted to take a little break with you and ponder what it means to actually love our enemies according to the words of Jesus. If you are anything like me, you've often wondered, "how is it even possible to love my enemies?" Especially in these chaotic, "unprecedented times," I think thinking through this topic together could be...
about 1 month ago • 12 min read
Hello, my friends, We have had quite the week as a nation, haven’t we? I just want to start off with a word of encouragement. Things are super chaotic right now, but it doesn’t define our fate. I am reminded every day how many people are committed to the work of goodness and compassion in our world. I’m reminded every day that there are people actively committed to fixing the issues in both our churches and our nation. All of you are among those people in my life! The helpers of the world...
about 2 months ago • 14 min read
Hello, my friends, There is a few phrases I have heard all throughout my life in the church when it comes to American politics. They are phrases I still hear on an almost weekly basis online from many people. The phrases are "both sides are equally bad" and "don't preach politics, just preach the gospel." If you've heard these phrases as much as I have, you might be wondering why we say these things, especially today when the political stakes seem to be so high. I think it is something at...
about 2 months ago • 12 min read
Hello, my friends, Many of you responded to my newsletter last week with your mental health journey and untangling yourselves from the bad theology that has contributed to your mental turmoil. Thank you so much for sharing your journeys with me so openly. Hearing from all of you after sharing my own story was so very encouraging. I am pretty convinced that I have some of the best and brightest people following this newsletter. So sincerely, thank you. It has been quite a couple of weeks,...
2 months ago • 12 min read
Hello my friends, Given the uncertain times that we are in, I wanted to share a bit of my personal struggles with mental health in an effort to encourage you to prioritize yours, which includes decoupling yourself from bad theology that can make it worse. I hope you find my story to be an encouragement to take care of yourself as you take care of others. But first, here are some resources to consider: -icuTalks: End The Stigma I shared this last week, but given today's topic, I thought I...
2 months ago • 8 min read