The fall schedule is upon us! After more than a year of everyone in my family being in the same place all the time, life has exploded. Four different schools and school schedules, three different jobs and work schedules, church roles, life management. I like new starts usually. For me, fall has always meant anticipation […]
When deconstruction comes from hope.
If you’re worried about the number of Christian folks who are deconstructing, take a deep breath. If you’re experiencing it yourself, no need to panic. I’ve had a tangible experience of deconstruction these past few weeks that clarified how it is often a necessary and healthy experience.
Are you doing your faith?
Last weekend I hosted the Writers Advance. I want to talk about it briefly, but before you click away thinking this doesn’t apply to you, give me about four minutes. This retreat reminded me of something crucial to healthy spiritual growth.
We are being gathered. (Unexpected encouragement amidst the hate mail.)
Well, this past week has been a crazy emotional ride! Last week I sent out an email update. As always, the email included a link to my latest blog and podcast. It also started with an open letter to folks who follow my writing online. I thought I’d get hate mail. (Or, maybe more accurately, […]
76% (And why that number guts me).
In the days following the recent election, I saw a graph that stunned me. I cannot get it out of my head. It showed a statistical breakdown of who voted for which candidate from exit poll data, suggesting that 76% of this particular group voted to re-elect the incumbent. 76%. Numbers that high mean that […]
Jeremiah’s words for Christians in 2020.
The circumstances we find ourselves in are not what we would have chosen. COVID is still killing more than a thousand people in the U.S. each day, and there seems to be no coherent plan on the horizon to address this. Protests against police brutality have continued—in Portland, we’ve passed 130 consecutive days—and yet there […]
Are we listening to false prophets?
Imagine two preachers coming to blows right in front of the congregation. The first preacher said hard words. The second preacher disagreed! He was so offended he kicked the podium over and took a swing. Crazy picture? Unlikely? Well, that’s about what happened between Jeremiah and Hananiah, sometime around 580 BC. Even more strange? This […]