You think I don’t go to church because I simply had a “bad experience.” Like I had eaten an off-putting meal at a restaurant. So you shame me for not trying again, as if I’m just lazy or over dramatic, while you insist that not all churches are bad. Perhaps, that’s true. Not all. But, […]

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I’m trying to hold onto my faith.  I really am. But I can’t deny what I’m seeing, I can’t deny what I’m feeling.   I used to look forward to church, like a cozy spiritual blanket. I found community, purpose, solitude, and the presence of the sacred. But now, it feels so dirty, empty, contrived, […]

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What the hell did you expect me to do? You told me to love my neighbors, to model the life of Jesus. To be kind and considerate, and to stand up for the bullied. You told me to love people, consider others as more important than myself. “Red and yellow, black and white, they are […]

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Some of the best followers of Jesus aren’t Christian. That’s right. Catch your breath. God doesn’t need you to believe in Jesus. Jesus doesn’t need you to believe in Jesus. He lives far beyond belief statements, doctrine, biblical scholarship, orthodoxy, and theology. He doesn’t align Himself to “right” believing, can’t be beamed into your presence […]

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I just can’t do it. I refuse to do it. My faith is grounded. You can pressure me, guilt me, shame me, and lure me with gold. Not locally, not nationally, not at all. I can’t vote Republican, the Bible tells me so. Not just tells me, but screams it into my soul.   Starting […]

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You want me to believe that your brand of faith is centered on love. That you love Jesus, love people, and love truth above all else. Yet, if I’m honest, so much of what I see in you is fear. Fear here, fear there, fear everywhere. Which makes it all the more confusing, given that […]

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My Evangelical friend. I’ve been where you are, walked the same journey. I know the Evangelical faith, system, and way of life. Twenty-two years as a pastor within it. Lived it. Breathed it. Gave my life to it. Until I was honest, about the person I had become. Selfish, judgemental, manipulative, and deceived. Nothing like […]

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You say we’re denying God, that we have rebelled and walked away. It so easily rolls off your lips. A go-to response against the things and people you seem to detest. What you’ll never admit. The truth you’ll never face is that we’re not denying God, we’re simply denying you. We’re walking away from a […]

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So much of what’s been made of “church” is a blasphemous degradation of the Jesus it pimps. Oozing rivers of pus-ladened evil upon a hurting world. What God meant for healing is used to inflict pain. What God meant for inclusivity is used to assert supremacy. What God meant for peace is used to declare […]

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*trigger warning: abuse . Thoughts lead to feelings. Feelings lead to actions. Actions lead to attitudes. Attitudes lead to behaviors.   It’s no wonder that many within the conservative brands of Christianity have adopted a toxic masculinity not unlike the god in which they subscribe. Believing in a vengeful, callous, narcissistic, exclusive, male, and patriarchal […]

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