Category: Practical Theology
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I’m (Kinda Sorta Yeah Not Really) Gay
Read more: I’m (Kinda Sorta Yeah Not Really) GayPeople wonder if I’m gay. I know because kids in school used to ask me. When I replied with silence, they called me a fag and went on their way. If bullies wondered about my sexuality, then so did family, friends, people at church. They were probably just too afraid (or too nice) to ask….
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God in the Mosh-Pit
Read more: God in the Mosh-PitI’m not sure what I thought I would find when I stepped inside the gymnasium the last Saturday night in March. I know that I was hoping to find my sister and enjoy the show–but I considered neither of those very likely given the crowd of people crammed inside the gym and the fact that…
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The Torments of Anxiety and the Hope of Grace
Read more: The Torments of Anxiety and the Hope of GraceDedication: This article is dedicated to my lovely wife who has walked through a dark valley with me; to Dave Stelling who has counseled me through much despair; to pastor Chris Lent who has been a faithful shepherd of my soul in turbulent waters; to my family and church family (both in Colorado and Florida)…
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I Still Believe
Read more: I Still BelieveI know it’s the 21st century, but here’s the thing: I’m a Christian. By definition, I have old-school beliefs. That might be a newsflash to the critics, who often react to biblical, traditional and altogether unsurprising beliefs with dropped jaws, as if Christians haven’t preached these things for two thousand years: “Do you seriously believe…
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God Feeds Us: Finding Acceptance in the Eucharist
Read more: God Feeds Us: Finding Acceptance in the EucharistWhen I was a kid, tons of things scared me–not the least of which was taking Communion. I can remember walking into church and being filled with dread when I saw the Communion trays stacked at the front of sanctuary. I would spend the entire service wracking my brain trying to remember and confess everything…
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The Evangelical Dream: The Wife, The Kids, and the Thriving Ministry
Read more: The Evangelical Dream: The Wife, The Kids, and the Thriving MinistryI think the “American Dream” is a sham that my culture tries to sell me on. It tells me to get married in my early thirties after I am done partying. I am supposed to have kids within my first decade of marriage (not too early: got to save up for that house down-payment). I…
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If “Better is one Day”… how sweet it is that “One Day” is “Every Day…”
Read more: If “Better is one Day”… how sweet it is that “One Day” is “Every Day…”“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. “ The rhythmic scrape of your leather sandal griping the rocky soil beneath them continues as you head up another hill. Also keeping…
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Orthodox at Heart: A Personal Reflection on the Church in Russia (Guest Post)
Read more: Orthodox at Heart: A Personal Reflection on the Church in Russia (Guest Post)Almost two years ago, I married a citizen of the Russian Federation; a daughter of Lenin’s dream for the Russian people—the Soviet Union. Upon learning that I would be living in Russia for an extended period, my knee-jerk reaction was to find an English speaking, Reformed congregation that resembled mine in the states. To be…
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Raging Bull: How the Bible Bashed my Face In
Read more: Raging Bull: How the Bible Bashed my Face InOne of the most difficult tasks of the serious Bible student is to read the Bible as the word of God and not as an assignment. Like most people, I changed major three times during my first year of college. First, I was an engineering major. This was, without doubt, the result of knowing very…
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Gift in the Trash
Read more: Gift in the TrashThis story begins at the bottom of a trashcan–which, I admit, is not a very promising start. But it’s the story of how I come to be writing this post at all. It was a Sunday night in July 2011, 2 weeks after the miscarriage. My sisters had been visiting us for the past eleven…