Of course if no one had ever been exposed to dangerous ideas from scandalous women, Christianity itself would not have had its unique beginning nor its glorious history, but whatever.
It is next to impossible in isolation to manufacture the beautiful, radical grace that flows from the heart of God to God’s broken and blessed humanity. As
I was slightly irritated to be reminded of Jesus’ message by a new Christian when what I rather would’ve done was rant about the shit that was making me hate people.
But no matter how much we strive for purity in our minds, bodies, spirits, or ideologies, purity is not the same as holiness. It’s just easier to define what is pure than what is holy, so we pretend t...
Because sometimes the most holy thing we can say is: No. Not on my watch.
And with an openness that felt like spiritual waterboarding (Jesus holding my head under the waters of my own baptism until I cry uncle), I had a long conversation with my enemy.
And the Word that had most recently come from the mouth of God was, This is my beloved in whom I am well pleased. Identity. It’s always God’s first move. Before we do anything wrong and before we do a...
And anyway, it has been my experience that what makes us the saints of God is not our ability to be saintly but rather God’s ability to work through sinners.
Again and again Jesus had said they should preach forgiveness of sins in his name. Maybe Judas was destined to betray Jesus. Maybe it couldn’t have gone down in any other way than it did. But maybe Ju...
A sexual ethic that includes concern means seeing someone as a whole person and not just a willing body.
What if God’s Word is so much more powerful than our ability to become worthy of God? I mean, not for nothing, but if God can create the universe by speaking it into existence, then I think God can...
The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with God and each other when we are uncool, lame, blind, poor, and crippled. And as uncomfortable as I am, as you are, to be seen in such...
Too often, the diagram that religion draws up for explaining sex takes the snake's-eye view—it names only the physics of fear, threat, and control, but none of the magic. Likewise, media and advertisi...
Standing in a large Minnesotan church hall I tried to muster up the interest and stamina it takes to greet each person with the honor he or she deserves. This always feels like a battle between my mis...
Sometimes God needs some stuff done, even though I can be a real asshole. There is absolutely no justice in the fact that Larry loved me and that church. But if I got what I deserved in this life, I'...
In the Jesus business, community is always a part of healing. Even though community is never perfect.
If becoming a person of faith were more like, say, receiving a personality transplant, life would be easier.
Christianity is not a program for avoiding mistakes; it is a faith of the guilty. There is no right or perfect way to be. We learn from our mistakes; we extend grace to others and ourselves.
Chloe kept drawing and hiding and peeking out to look at my tattoos again. Did those hurt? she asked, which was right around the time I noticed the shiny thin lines on her arms. I thought to myself.
Because, after all, it was Jesus who had all the powers of the universe at his disposal but did not consider his equality with God something to be exploited. Instead, he came to us in the most vulnera...