Reflection

9 Truths from the Table Manners Series

July 31, 2019

Life regularly presents us with people who are very different than we are. And part of loving each other well is understanding and accepting – and even celebrating – our differences. Our recent Table Manners series gives us nine truths to remember as we practice love.

A knife cutting through rare cooked meat while a fork holds it.

Peter, God’s Chosen Radical Curmudgeon

May 30, 2019

Could it be that Peter, in all his spontaneity and impulsiveness and filterless outbursts, was made this way for a reason? Perhaps God specifically chose him, in concert with Paul, to announce the most radical religious idea since Jesus was declared Son of God. And perhaps those of use who relate with Peter were made with a purpose too.

This is what happened when I stayed silent.

May 15, 2019

My journey over the past nine months has been one of brokenness. I realize that I had been broken alone — and now what I really wanted was to be broken but with others. I believe Thomas. I think he will welcome the “outlier” with open arms. The true question, I think, is – will we follow that example?

What happens when doubts are silenced for too long?

May 4, 2019

Church has not always been a safe place for me, or those I know and love. That’s why I have been silent—for years. Silent as I have questioned everything I once felt so sure about. But the cost of silence is great.

The Space to Breathe

April 30, 2019

It’s April, so the essays are pouring in. There are exams to write, grades to enter, emails and phone calls to make, and all of that is coming from a job I love but one that’s currently drowning me. In the midst of the storm, the Good Friday service created space for me to breathe and be.

Losing Myself

March 14, 2019

You may have watched the interview where Thomas Thompson and I talked about God being at work in public schools. What you didn’t see, what you couldn’t have seen, was the work God did to rescue me from myself both before and after I walked up on that stage.

two white men standing with six muslim men

Listening to People of Other Religions

February 9, 2019

I believe one of the greatest mistakes Christians have made is that we communicate as if we have exclusive access to Jesus. I want to grow in being a person who invites others, regardless of their religious identities, to come alongside me to help me to better listen to Jesus.