Faith & Culture

“If we hand our sons and daughters a faith exposed as misogynistic, racist, unconcerned about creation and the poor, they aren’t wrong to leave it.” -Jonathan Martin Dear (Spiritual) Parents, This letter is for you. Yes, for all you God-fearing pastors, mentors and 1990’s youth leaders. And for all you Bible-believing moms and dads who taught us about the value of hard-work and going to church well-dressed. I’ll start with gratitude, because your journey is part of the foundation on which we stand. And yet where we stand looks so different to what you built. The tide is drastically changing, and somehow we need...

“To “do justice” means to render to each what each is due. Justice involves harmony, flourishing, and fairness, and it is based on the image of God in every person—the Imago Dei—that grants all people inalienable dignity and infinite worth.” Eugene Cho The book of the prophet Amos was written while the kingdom of Israel had become a prosperous nation under King Jeroboam II. They were experiencing peace as a nation, great social prestige and had achieved military might. But the poor suffered like dogs, the foreigners experienced oppression and the widows and orphans died unattended. Does that ring any...

“Pastors are not meant to get therapy” vs. “Pastors really need to get therapy.” I used to live by statement number one... probably why I ended up living statement number two. Let me start by saying that I am still a pastor, I still believe in the absolute power of Jesus to heal the heart and I’m still a huge supporter of church counseling and ministry. But I feel compelled to raise my voice and say: Therapy is not demonic. Taking antidepressants is not a sin. Seeing a psychiatrist is not anti-christian. And those who suffer from mental health problems...

Christianity is changing.Fast. I’m not talking about Faith and the Good News. That started with Jesus and remains. I’m talking about our interpretation (and in turn) our manifestation of it. So as part of the family, I decided to write this list for us. Most of the ones that made it have already been discussed among my young Christian friends. The first resolution is to learn to question things that we're used to, and to be ok with uncomfortable conversation and a difference of opinions. * As long as those opinions are not based on denying other people's humanity of course. So...