Hey my friends, Today's newsletter is going to be a bit different than usual. While I will often tackle a certain topic that intersects between theology and politics, I wanted today's to be a bit more pastoral. I have had so many of you message me expressing your exhaustion and grief over all that has been taking place here in America. So, I just wanted to share a simple process I use to evaluate the structure of my hope in times of weakness and grief in the hopes that you might find it...
4 days ago • 11 min read
Hello my friends, My heart has been grieving over the treatment towards our immigrant neighbors. I've gotten a lot of messages from you about this as well. So, today I wanted to invite us to contemplate the current situation through a Biblical lens and then provide some ways of getting involved. Recommended Resources: -Jemar Tisby: Road To Ruin video series. Historian, author, and my friend, Jemar Tisby has put together a video series that describes how we got here and what to do about it....
11 days ago • 11 min read
Hey my friends, Thanks for joining me today. Today I wanted to invite us to consider how our perspective of God shapes our view of things. I had a rather discouraging conversation this week, which I will get into below, and it was really obvious how both of us were just operating from two different perspectives of God. So I wanted to look at Luke 13:31-35 with you today and think a bit metaphorically about how our different perspectives of God can really bring about different outcomes....
18 days ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, I have been getting a lot of messages lately asking about ways to maintain faithful determination towards goodness and justice in days like ours. So, today I wanted to focus on that central theme through the lens of Luke 4:1-13 where Jesus was tested in the wilderness. In so many ways, it feels like we are in a big wilderness of our own, desperately looking for the way forward. I hope our time together today can be a helpful addition to that conversation. Resources to...
25 days ago • 12 min read
Hello, my friends, Recent events have caused me to not be able to stop thinking about the similar themes I feel like I keep seeing in how people define masculinity and leadership in our world today, especially from many who claim to be Christian. So today, I want to think with you about those things and how they contrast with the person of Jesus. Here are some resources to consider: -Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation By Kristin Kobes Du Mez...
about 1 month ago • 15 min read
Hello, my friends, With the phrase "long live the king" and others like it causing all kinds of conversation this last week, I wanted to focus today on why Jesus has been referred to as king by those who have followed in through the ages and why it still matters today. Especially in a time when the Caesars of our world are asserting their dominance. But before we get to that, here are some resources to consider: -The Evolution of Presidential Power by Throughline. This episode from one of my...
about 1 month ago • 12 min read
Hello my friends, I don't know about you, but it seems to be harder and harder to fight against cynicism or even dread with all that is happening in our world today. So, today I want to focus on Jesus’ sermon from Luke 6:17-26 and invite us to be encouraged to not fall into cynicism and instead, pursue the cause of justice, especially for the most vulnerable among us, and to see joy not only as a source of encouragement but also as an act of resistance. But before we get into that, here are...
about 2 months ago • 13 min read
Hello my friends, I wanted to begin today by sharing some joy with you. Some significant things have happened in my life over the past two weeks. After almost a year of writing, I turned in the manuscript for my first book to my publisher. Rebecca and I celebrated 5 years of marriage together. Our 2 year old son’s creativity and curiosity grew exponentially. Our 10 month old daughter waved and said her first word “hi!” and is standing up on her own. She also slept through the night for...
about 2 months ago • 10 min read
Hello, my friends, In these heavy times, we are in, I want to invite us to look at Simeon’s prophetic words about Jesus in Luke 2:22-40 and reflect on some of the ways they are playing out before us within American Christianity. In doing so, I hope you find a measure of hope and encouragement in charting your path forward, even when Jesus is, to use Simeon’s words, a sign that people oppose. Before we get into it, here are some resources to consider: -How To Oppose H.Res. 59. For those of you...
about 2 months ago • 11 min read
Hello, my friends, During the presidential inauguration prayer service at the National Cathedral, the presiding Episcopal Bishop, Mariann Edgar Budde, ended her homily by asking the president to show mercy to several people groups who are scared right now about the things to come. If you haven’t listened to her entire sermon, I encourage you to go do so here. Her statement towards the end prompted severe backlash from so many. So, today, I want to reflect on these responses with you and...
2 months ago • 13 min read