evangelicalism
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tell them what it’s like

Your whole person was formed to be someone specific—a faithful follower, a committed Christian, on fire for God. You look at all the words, models, and messages now; they appear so vastly different from here, on the outside, than from there, on the inside. There was the message but only one way to live it, Continue reading
awareness, bible, change, Christianity, church, deconstruction, doubt, evangelicalism, Faith, God, gospel, growth, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, love, peace, prayer, questions, reflections, religion, spirituality, surrender, transformation, Trust, truth -
this is what it’s like

How would I describe it? It’s like losing your way in a familiar place. The spaces that once brought you comfort are now sources of discomfort. Who you once were is now a stranger. The God who once felt so near is now distant. Your faith is far away. Your love is weak. You do Continue reading
awareness, bible, change, Christianity, church, deconstruction, doubt, evangelicalism, Faith, God, gospel, growth, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, love, peace, prayer, questions, reflections, religion, spirituality, surrender, transformation, Trust, truth -
I’m like you

I’m like you. If you’ve never had a vision. You don’t speak in tongues. When others around you seem to have an encounter with God, you have none. You’ve sat in a crowd of believers wondering, “Why not me? What’s wrong with me?” You’ve wondered what you’re missing, what you don’t have that others do. Continue reading
awareness, bible, change, Christianity, church, deconstruction, doubt, evangelicalism, Faith, God, gospel, growth, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, love, peace, prayer, questions, reflections, religion, spirituality, surrender, transformation, Trust, truth -
four years later

Four years ago I left my job at a church and everything changed. I changed. Fast forward. If you asked me, “What do you believe now?” I couldn’t give you a straight answer. (I hardly know, myself.) And you know what I’ve discovered? That’s okay. Not knowing is okay. Liminality is a very real existential Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 7)

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Not our kingdom. Not our power. Not our glory. It belongs to another. The only one worthy of it. The only one it cannot blemish or destroy. Whenever we take it upon ourselves we ruin it, it ruins us. Whenever we try Continue reading
America, asking, bible, Christ, Christianity, church, deconstruction, doubts, empire, evangelicalism, Faith, forgiveness, God, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, love, peace, prayer, questions, reflection, religion, Searching, seeking, spirituality, the lord’s prayer, Theology, Trust, weekly reflections, worship -
the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 6)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: What does this mean? Save us from ourselves. God is not the cause of temptation, of our choices and actions, nor of the resulting suffering. If people are the problem then they can’t be the solution. So we pray, Deliver us. From ourselves, our Continue reading
America, asking, bible, Christ, Christianity, church, deconstruction, doubts, empire, evangelicalism, Faith, forgiveness, God, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, love, peace, prayer, questions, reflection, religion, Searching, seeking, spirituality, the lord’s prayer, Theology, Trust, weekly reflections, worship -
the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 5)

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Oh, forgiveness. One of the most difficult asks for humankind. You know. Who is it impossible to forgive? “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Are we forgiven only as we forgive? Do we forgive because we’re forgiven, or are Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 4)

Give us this day our daily bread. Yet they starve by the millions, your children, without bread or water. Children die sick in slums or in the streets. Thousands perish every single day from preventable causes. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 3)

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Where is your kingdom? It is not in earth as it is in heaven. For what of the Ugandan boy who sat next to me in tears because someone he loved was dying or dead of AIDS. What of the young Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 2)

Hallowed be thy name. The sacred name that’s been used by the apparent faithful throughout history to justify the persecution and killing of those who are different from and other than; the faithful who hold the supposed truth and dispense it by the sword (literally or figuratively). Look no further than our own scriptures. God-ordained Continue reading