What Do You Doubt About Your Faith?

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Q: What do you doubt about your faith/Christianity?

Life after death. 

Feels funny saying that out loud, especially as a pastor. But, like everything else in life, there is nuance to the answer.

I wonder if “doubt” is the right word, or if “scares the crap out of me” might be better? What scares me is that I could be wrong. Wrong about heaven. Wrong that there is an eternal life waiting for me after death. Instead of a glorified existence where there is no more pain or tears or suffering, it’s just infinite blackness. Like click, the lights go out. The end.

Isn’t that like the biggest selling point for Christianity, immortality? How on earth could I still be a pastor when this is the thing that I doubt? 

Well, first off, I don’t think anyone is 100% certain about life after death. Sure, there are stories of people dying and coming back to life who report seeing God or heaven or whatever, but I haven’t been there myself, so I’m still 100% sure. I don’t know that I would even trust a pastor who said they were 100% certain because they would probably have “evidence” that might make me think they were a crazy person. Or I’d always feel guilty for being a human with doubts when the leader of my church was positive about all aspects of faith.

But second, and I think more importantly, while I may have moments of fear about what is going to happen after I die, I have many, MANY more moments of assurance and confidence about my faith while I’m still living.

I have to say at the outset that I have a pretty high view of God, meaning I believe he can do anything. I don’t really doubt that he could have created the universe with his words, or that he can speak to us, or that he guided the Bible into existence through authors thousands of years ago, or that he lived on earth, died, and rose from the dead to give us the power to live new lives. If God is who he says he is, then all of those things are par for the course, in my opinion. God can do those things and I believe he did because of the biblical account, the archeological and anthropological findings that support them. And even without these “evidences” from other fields of study, I still find myself believing that we were created and that a relationship with God was the point.

Now, included in my beliefs is the belief in eternal life. However, the biblical description of eternal life is not simply life after death, though it certainly includes that (Revelation 21:3-4). The bible acknowledges that death still comes for us all, but that it is not the final reality of our existence (Romans 6:23, 1John 2:17). The eternal life we receive, however, is the existence that continues after death.

Most of the references in scripture to eternal life have to do with two things however: not dying/eternal life, and knowing God.

In one of my favorite verses in all of scripture, Jesus says it this way:

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3

I would be incapable of following a belief system that did not have practical implications on my day to day living, and this verse (among others) assures me that one of the tenets of my faith, eternal life, has current ramifications. Eternal life is not simply about existing forever. It is not solely about experiencing pleasure and good things for all of time. It includes these things, but it has far more to do with knowing God in real and tangible ways than anything else.

The God of the Bible is depicted as “slow to anger and abounding in love” as I have stated in another post, and we will discuss how to approach the places in scripture where this doesn’t seem to be the case in an upcoming discussion. But overarching it all, we may approach a relationship with God understanding that he IS love (1 John 4:8). He is the perfect example of what love looks like, how it behaves, what it values, and the way it orders a life. If we look at Jesus, we can do so knowing we are looking at a perfect representation of a life ruled by love.

That being said, eternal life becomes about knowing Love himself, and that knowing starts now. I have had enough experience getting to know God, enough years ruled by love, enough times in prayer and in reading scripture and in conversation with others and in persevering through crappy life situations that I can affirm that God is in fact love, and that I know him.

Having known God for so many years I can confidently say I’ve been experiencing eternal life, and it is a good life. It is one that is ruled by love, one where the needs of others are a higher concern than my own yet my own needs are met every time they arise both by the hand of God and through the love of his people. It is one where I regularly lay down my life in an effort to display the compassion of God, and continues to be worth it even when I am ill treated and unloved by others. It is one where I am compelled by the God of justice to fight for the rights of the oppressed and downcast, while recognizing that I can minutely impact my small world and doing so anyways. It is one that is governed by grace, humility, and forgiveness, where I hold myself responsible for cleaning up the messes that I make but not for endlessly punishing myself with guilt and shame, living with a clear heart and free mind. It is one that commands me to love and be loved across all lines and boundaries and attempts we make at division and hatred.

It’s a good freaking life, and I don’t know how I could exist any other way as an imperfect human with other imperfect humans in an imperfect world. And if this is eternal life here and now, and the promise is that it will continue in perfection after I die, well then I’d rather spend my life holding out hope and living well than resigning myself to hopeless and selfish living. I’ve experienced God fulfilling his word to me enough times that I tend to think He’ll continue to do so after death. But if I get to the other side and it is all over, well I’ll be really satisfied with a life lived the way it’s meant to be lived for anyone who claims to follow Jesus. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think part of the journey of faith is wrestling with our doubts and taking them to God and asking for answers or peace, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. But doubt isn’t sin. I believe hopelessness in the face of doubt is, because then we begin to disbelieve that God is good (Exodus 34:6) and that he is in fact working all things for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

And maybe you didn’t care about that entire conversation we just had, but more than anything you need to hear that it is ok to doubt. So, there you go. You’re human, welcome to the club. As for me though, I’m going to doubt towards faith, if you’d like to join me.

What Do I Do If I Know A Pastor Is Living In Habitual Sin?

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Question:

What do I do if I know a pastor is living in habitual sin?


*GASP* QUICK! CALL THE TABLOIDS! ALERT THE POLICE! WRITE A CLICKBAIT ARTICLE! A PASTOR HAS SINNED!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, now that that ridiculous corniness is out of my system, if you were sitting in the room with me and asked that question, I’d probably look at you blankly and say, “And…?”

I am not making light of the question nor the issue, but I do want to make sure we are realistic here. Pastors are people too. Shocking, I know. And since every pastor is a person, every pastor sins. Regularly. Every day in fact. You could even say they have a habit of sinning, just like every other person on the face of the planet.

You see, sin means “to miss the mark.” In Christianity what this means is that God made us perfectly and set up the world and our relationship with it perfectly. We were designed to live in unbroken trust of and relationship with God. But, thanks to Adam and Eve, that trust and relationship were both broken, and every human in the history of history has missed the mark of unbroken relationship with God.

That is fundamental, foundational, original sin, and our hearts are now naturally, in their resting state, inclined to move away from God instead of towards him. Even Christians. Jesus has made it possible for our relationship with God to be restored, and though we have a new heart and a new mind and a new life, we still have our natural urge to move away from God. This is the Already-Not-Yet theology you may have heard of, where we are currently saved by God and restored to a right relationship with him, but we also live in a broken world and in bodies and minds that want to distrust and disobey God. 

Discipleship or following Jesus, then, is at its core a daily reliance upon God to make the decisions and live the life that God intended for us, one in which our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors match His original design. It is a good and beautiful design too, one where life is valued and people are honored and property is respected and all are invited into friendship with God. But there are a million and one ways we can come up with to walk in the opposite direction of God, and most days we don’t even have to find them. They’re just there. Which is why following Jesus, while about the way we live life, must be founded and completely dependent upon God’s grace and favor and kindness.

We couldn’t have come back to God on our own, we wouldn’t have even wanted to, which we see demonstrated in our daily desire to go our own way. And we can’t live a perfect day even when we know the exact way God would have us live, because none of us is perfect. No one can go love every one of their neighbors as themselves, or love God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength every second of every day. So we rely upon grace and forgiveness, confessing our sins to God and each other, praying for healing, and moving on with our lives.

Every single thing I just said applies to pastors just as completely as it does to you.

We are not an extra-saved, extra-holy, extra-not-inclined-to-sin people. Pastors are humans, just like you. The only difference is while you have been called to love and serve the body of Christ, they have been called to lead it, and that is no small task.

Titus 1:6 and 1 Timothy 3:2 both outline the expectations of a leader in the church. If you read them both, you will realize it is no small list.

  • Blameless as a steward of God, above reproach

  • Faithful husband to his wife

  • Temperate, sober, vigilant

  • Sober-minded, prudent

  • Of good behavior, orderly, respectable

  • Given to hospitality

  • Able to teach

  • Not given to wine

  • Not violent, not pugnacious

  • Patient, moderate, forbearing, gentle

  • Uncontentious, not soon angry or quick-tempered

  • Not covetous, not a lover of money

  • Rules his own house well, his children are faithful, not accused of rebellion to God

  • Not a novice or new convert

  • Has a good rapport or reputation with outsiders

  • Not self-willed

  • A lover of what is good

  • Just, fair

  • Holy, devout

  • Self-controlled

  • Hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught


These are the indicators that show that a pastor is living the way God commands them to, and one of these topics is probably what you are referring to when you refer to habitual sin.

Again, I believe pastors need grace like everyone else, which includes an understanding that they are imperfect as well. But when it comes to a habitual pattern of sin in one of these areas, what we should expect out of a pastor, rather than perfection, is a consistent effort to overcome the regular engagement of these issues, as well as a track record of victory.

Pastors are to set the example for the rest of the church, but their example will never be sinlessness, as I think many in the church are inclined to delusionally believe somewhere in their psyche. Instead, the example of a pastor should be consistent victory over sin, which comes by way of regular confession, accountability, and vulnerability with individuals they know and trust. It will require them to be brutally honest about their faults and defects, not with the whole congregation, but with select individuals who pray for them and spur them on. It will mean they need to have safeguards and habits in place that lead them away from their sinful appetites, which overall creates a lifestyle of godliness and holiness.

And just as in the Old Testament when the priests in the temple were required to sacrifice an animal for their sins before they could sacrifice animals for the sins of God’s people, the pastor must daily confess, repent, and receive forgiveness for their sins.

When a pastor is either unrepentant or unwilling to grow, or they have a habitual sin that is not consciously being confessed and worked on practically to be overcome, this is when there is concern for the church. If a pastor does not have systems in place to check their heart and life against the list above with someone else, this is when action needs to be taken to course correct. And like so much of our lives as Christians, the response and application is sure to be nuanced. It could require the pastor to take a leave of absence, or to simply introduce systems and habits in their lives that insure accountability and growth, or immediate removal from their position of authority.

But why does it feel like there is a difference between a pastor who is not patient and one that is sleeping with someone outside of their marriage, when both are included in the passages above? Well, that has to do with the rest of scripture, which speaks into various examples and situations of these sins in the church, as well as the severity of the negative impact and destruction these sins have. Scripture clearly states there is immense repercussion for someone involved in an affair, because “sexual sin is against one’s own body,” while none of the others are. We must consider passages like this when dealing with specific sins in a pastor's life, while also understanding that because the calling of leadership of the church is a high calling, the consequences of any sin should be greater for a pastor than a church member.

Above all, as with any other member of a church, we must be driven by love. 1 John tells us that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear has to do with punishment. When addressing sin in anyone’s life, the goal must be redemption and restoration for that person, an existence where they are free from the control and shame and guilt and fear and pain sin exerts over a life, and rich with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control in dynamic relationships with God and others. Too often we have thought of church discipline being designed just to punish, humiliate, or protect the rest of the church. But since the church is a place filled with imperfect humans, there is always risk involved when love is invested there. 

Love must always be invested in the church. In every season, scenario, and addressing of sin, love must be the ruling force, because, while we have been given many instructions on how to live, the two greatest commands involve loving God and loving each other. If you have prayed and sought wise counsel and believe you should approach someone in authority in the church about the pastor’s sin, then you should. Their leadership is their calling and they cannot fulfill their calling if they are actively rebelling against God in unhealthy ways, so they need loving, humble people who care about them to bring their sin to their attention.

But also understand that you probably do not have positional or relational authority in their life, and might need to approach someone who does like the elders or leadership of the church. Rather than attempting to discredit a pastor in the name of truth or justice, approach the situation knowing they are human like you, and are probably doing their best to honor God and people. Try not to villainize your pastor or anyone else needing to be free from sin, at least they’re asking for help (or were lovingly exposed by God) and have hope for healing, unlike so many of us who hide in our sin and shame.

Finally, take time to earnestly pray for your pastor's health, healing, holiness, and wholeness. We all sin, we just have the responsibility of helping others learn to live in freedom on top of fighting to do it ourselves, and we need your prayers and support as much as you need ours.

This is a serious topic, and we are meant to treat it seriously. But we are meant to do so with overwhelmingly love and a deep, deep commitment to speaking only the truth to one another in that context of love.

Can I Have Suicidal Thoughts And Still Be A Christian?

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Before we get into this piece, let me say that if you are currently having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. There is no shame in struggling with these thoughts or in asking for help. You are valuable to me and to so many other people around you, and the person on the other end of that phone number cares deeply about your existence. We love you. You are strong. Please make the call.Before we get into this piece, let me say that if you are currently having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. There is no shame in struggling with these thoughts or in asking for help. You are valuable to me and to so many other people around you, and the person on the other end of that phone number cares deeply about your existence. We love you. You are strong. Please make the call.


Question: Can I be a Christian and have suicidal thoughts? 

Absolutely. Otherwise I wasn’t a Christian for a recent season in my life.

I like to say that while my family is physically built like oxen, mentally we are like fine china. It’s a little extreme, but we are generally healthy in our bodies and have struggles in the chemical makeup of our brains. Among the mental struggles in my family tree are:

  • Bipolar disorder

  • Panic disorder

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Personality disorder

  • Addiction


That being said, I have had a front row seat to some of the most courageous and selfless actions someone could take in those situations. 

I have watched family members go to intensive rehab, work to manage their addictions, and learn an entirely different way of existing in the world as they emerged from substance-induced fogs. 

I have seen loved ones go through the incredibly terrifying process of starting new medications, encountering horrifying mental side-effects, weathering physical side effects of dosage changes, and holding on long enough to find the right combination of drug and dose to live a “normal” life.

I have seen the death of pride, guilt, shame, and fear as someone has owned for the very first time their mental struggles and reached out for the help they’ve always wanted but were perpetually too afraid to ask for.

I have seen them get back up with the help of loved ones after they’ve attempted to take their own lives.

In this way, my family are my heroes, especially because I have seen all of the dark places they have been before they made their greatest feats of strength and courage.

I’ve also been there.

My first foray into the world of mental health was when I was in 8th grade. My family life had been complicated ever since  my parents divorced when I was 7 years old. They were trying to figure out their new normal in both healthy and unhealthy ways, and as young kids my sister and I experienced the repercussions of their choices. It was a very rough ride, to say the least.

I also felt incredibly lonely. I was a pretty awkward kid with very few buddies, none of whom I thought considered me a friend, and with not a few bullies. I was teased for my clothes, my hair, and especially my weight.

I felt big feelings, ones that I didn’t think anyone wanted to hear and I had nowhere to unleash and let go. When some students at school began discussing “cutting” and it got them some attention, I was intrigued.

One day I was sitting on the counter at my home and I held a steak knife to my wrist, lightly moving it up and down my flesh. I was too scared to follow through, but too sad not to try anything that might make me feel seen and valuable.

My sister walked in, she went and got my dad, and he walked briskly in to ask, “What are you doing?!” His tone, which then felt harsh but I now know was expressing love and fear, made me shrivel up inside.

I went to the school counselor the next day after no one said anything to each other in my house the entire night before, and told him what happened. Before I knew it, I was in a mental hospital on a unit with other disturbed youth. Over the 7 day stay I had there, I listened to them try to outdo one another in the harm they had caused themselves with sharp objects and household cleaning solutions. And as I sat listening, I had an incredibly clear thought:

“I’m not like them.”

Once the medical tests confirmed that I had no chemical imbalances at that time (I would be diagnosed with panic disorder after college), I realized that what I had been doing on the counter was looking for attention, however negative it might have been, and that there were better ways to get that attention. I didn’t discover the absurdly intense love of Jesus until the next year in 9th grade, and it was then that I started to understand that my life had value.

Your life and heart and mind and thoughts and emotions and entire existence is precious to Jesus, no matter who you are or what you have done. There was a moment in 9th grade when I had an image of Jesus on the cross, me standing underneath him, and he said, “Even if you were the only person on the planet in all of history, I would die for you so that you would know my love and we could be together for eternity.”

Please know that you are seen and loved by the God who knew your name before He created all things, and that there are people around you who care about you more than you know.


My second major season in which I had suicidal thoughts was much more recently, within the last year. That means it happened while I was a pastor and had been a Christian for over 15 years, and not one ounce of my being thinks I wasn’t a Christian while I wrestled with these things.

I had a resurgence of extremely negative thoughts towards myself, something I’ve gone to therapy for in the past. It is so intense that I would label it as self-hatred. Internally I would say horrific things about myself, declaring I was worthless because of my actions and disgusting to my very core. This was a coping mechanism, one that existed to help me learn from my mistakes and lead me towards perfection. I thought I was worthless at my core and that my imperfections caused others to think less of me or would eventually cause them to leave me. So I internally abused myself with silent verbal assaults to change my behavior, like a drill sergeant that is intent on breaking an individual in the cruelest and most vicious way possible, “for the greater good.”

I recognized the uptick in the presence and ferocity of these thoughts about myself and knew I should probably return to therapy to get help, but I was prideful and ashamed, thinking that I should have learned to love myself at the age of 12 or something.

However, with these thoughts rattling around my head constantly, affirming core beliefs I had about my worthlessness, it wasn’t long before the thoughts took a leap to the next logical step. I had a couple thoughts that said, “It would be easier for the people around you and for yourself if you weren’t around.”

I did not make a plan on how to kill myself, but I also refused to keep those thoughts stuffed inside. It scared the hell out of me. I told my wife, I told a friend, and I reached out to a therapist. I have started learning to love myself and to receive the value God has for me.

And again, I don’t think I was ever not Christian.

I think of Elijah the prophet, who was so depressed he just laid on the ground, napped, had a snack, and wished he were dead. I think of Moses, who murdered someone and then felt such despair that he ran away into the desert without a plan. I think of Jesus, who wept bitterly the night before his execution, asking God if there was another way but refusing to jealordize the plan of God and a relationship with us. 

Jesus is not scared of our deepest, darkest thoughts. There is nothing new under the sun, he has seen it all and experienced our pain. And that doesn’t lead him to roll his eyes and wish you would get your act together. No. It leads him to reflexively respond out of his incredible kindness. He loves you. He delights in you. And not even you can stop him from doing that.

Christians, no matter how hard they work to make you believe otherwise, struggle with an incredible amount of pain, wounds, sin, evil, disgusting impulses and thoughts that would make others squirm if they were said out loud. But I think that is where these things start to lose their power of shame and self-hatred over us: out loud. When we start to unveil some of these things with someone who loves us, we start to see how insubstantial and puny they are compared to God’s love. Maybe before we get that perspective we can at least see that our friends deal with blush-inducing thoughts as well.

This is the stuff of real life that Jesus broke the power of when he died on the cross, and it is the stuff the church is meant to be a part of healing. Unfortunately, for too long we have hidden everything besides “niceness,” sweeping the raw and ugly parts of ourselves under the rug and allowing them free reign in our minds. But what is ridiculously encouraging to me is that the first step towards healing and freedom is not a huge one. It may be terrifying but it is not an insurmountable obstacle to scale. It is not simply repeating scripture until it is memorized and reflexive. It is not reading enough of the Bible. It is not volunteering or giving or praying our way into health. It is opening our mouths.

You can be a Christian and have suicidal thoughts, but Jesus invites you to open your heart to someone else and let these things no longer terrorize you as thoughts only in your mind. Instead they can become burdens that are shared by someone else, which in turn can help us realize they have been shared by Jesus, with love and compassion, all along.

At least, that’s what has helped me.

Dancing Through Minefields - An Introduction

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“The Bible is full of black and white truths that we have to learn to apply to an increasingly greyscale world.” - Me

While most people nod and agree when I tell them this, it is far more personally offensive than they might realize in the moment.

To those who agree because they are in agreement that the Bible is black and white, it is an offensive statement because mining the depths of Scripture to find the truth is much harder than simply listening to your favorite preachers, reading your favorite publications, or talking with your favorite friends and regurgitating what they say. Most of the time we cultivate circles of influence that affirm what we want to hear, even to the exclusion of what the Bible actually says, and to acknowledge that requires humility, and correcting it requires work.

The Bible is full of stories, poems, and era specific communication between God and humans that it takes great care to peel apart and discover the truth and what is applicable to us now. To do so requires knowledge of how to study the Bible and an understanding of faith traditions throughout history that together reveal eternal truth, not to mention wisdom to apply the truth to your world. Even the clear commands found in Scripture like “Love your neighbor” require work, because: Who is my neighbor? How do I love them? Is it enough to tolerate them, or just mentally agree I should love them? Is it only when I feel like it? And what about when they are unjust, because the Bible certainly cares about justice as well?!

To those who agree because they affirm that the world is greyscale and nuanced, it is an offensive statement because of the assertion that the Bible holds capital T Truth. We live in an age where we are encouraged to “live your truth,” and while the idea of affirming other people is biblical, it does not mean we affirm every decision they make or thought they believe to be truth. Think about it, someone can live their truth as long as their truth doesn’t hinder our lives. As soon as it does, we get agitated and cancel them and call it self-care. This leaves no room for choosing love over all else, where we make the decision to honor and value all people as made in the image of God by having honest conversation and doing the gritty, exhausting, and emotional work of cultivating steadfast and compassionate friendships. It is easier to caricaturize someone as mean, dumb, evil, intolerant, sexist, or anything else that entitles me to disregard them, rather than love them enough to know them, have conversation with them, disagree with them, and choose to love them still, even if they end up proving my initial assessment of them to be true.

I have been working in the church for 8 years now and in Christian ministry for 12 years, and the Lord has shown me one Truth that will always guide me and one aspect of my personality and heart that I care about deeply and want to bring to the church setting.

The Truth the Lord has shown me is this:

Love is always the right answer.

There is no higher calling on God’s people than to love God with our entire being and to love the people around us in the same way we love ourselves. The most beautiful thing is that this calling is not self-motivated, but responsive. God delights in the people he has created, and while he rejoices in the renewed relationships he has with people who put their faith in him, his heart breaks in love over those who have not. His first thought when he thinks about any human is not anger. His first reaction to us when we ignore him, walk away from him, or live life in ways he did not intend is not disappointment. His heart lavishes love on his entire creation. 

God is “slow to anger and abounding in love.” That means it takes a long time to get him angry while his reflex towards us is love, which motivates every word and law and command and conversation and relationship that God initiates. No matter who it is with. No matter what it is about. God is motivated by and acts out of love, which should be the ideal of the Church, all of those people who say they have faith in Jesus. However, because the Church is filled with imperfect people, we will get it wrong, probably daily for the rest of our lives. But true followers of Jesus will fight to make love their highest value each day, and will clean up the messes that occur when they get it wrong. Thank God he has made this faith run on grace and forgiveness, otherwise we’d either have to take the ruthless punishment we can inflict on ourselves and each other daily, or we’d have to give up entirely.

The part of my personality that the Lord has taught me to love and offer to the church is this:

I don’t tolerate B.S. very well. 

(Even though there isn’t a person alive who does not know what I mean, I’ve chosen to abbreviate this particular phrase to “B.S.” so that rather than writing emails about my word choice, readers can concern themselves with the point of the article instead.)

From a young age I have intensely valued honesty and transparency and have let that influence all areas of my life. For example, from the moment I started dating my wife I was in love and she was perfect. Too perfect. I actually sat her down and told her to be more herself around me because she was too cookie cutter perfect and I knew there was a goofy and real and imperfect human in there that I wanted to know. She did, and I loved what I found.

I have approached nearly every relationship in my life in the same way. I want people to be honest. Real. Vulnerable. Imperfect. Themselves. Human.

The church has done a wonderful job of collectively agreeing that imperfection is intolerable and we must do whatever we can to convince ourselves and everyone around us that we do not have flaws, we never sin, and we have zero doubts about our faith.

But that is a lie, and didn’t the one we are lying in the name of call himself “the Truth”?

I am convinced that Jesus has something to say to the deepest hidden places in our hearts and minds.

I believe he has tenderness towards our doubts and will provide us the answers or comfort that we need when faced with them.

I believe he has love towards us when we sin and forgiveness for the atrocious things we do and think and say to each other.

I believe he has compassion towards our flaws and grace to help us grow and become better versions of ourselves than we currently are.

If not, if these things are not true, then what was the point of Jesus hanging on the cross?

I believe to the core of my being that the world would be a better place if people felt the comfort and love of Jesus in such great measure that no topic or conversation would be off-limits. We would know that we could approach a Christian and ask them a really hard question, and whether they knew the answer that moment or not, we would never be judged or shamed for asking. And even as the conversation progressed and the list of disagreements grew larger and larger, we could be safe knowing that at the end of the discussion the person sitting across from us would love us earnestly and practically.

When we live life together following after Jesus, there has to be a foundation of Truth and Love that guides all of our days together, and this project is an attempt to build some of that foundation. I am imperfect. I will get things wrong and have to go back and correct them. You will disagree with me at some point. You might not like my tone or sometimes silliness. You might not like what the Bible has to say or the way I interpret it through my study of it. And you probably won’t like that I will not give you an answer that you can either affirm and love me for or reject and hate me for. If you want to continue to engage with the topic you will probably find that you'll have to do your own work to learn and study and grow and have conversations with other humans.

But I won’t beat around the bush. I won’t choose the “Right Christian Answers” without reason. And I will never choose anything other than love as my foundation and final answer every single time.

So many of you have already submitted so many anonymous questions to the prompt “What question would you never ask a pastor?”. I thank you for that and say “Keep Submitting!” (the link to do so is below). If you choose to walk with me as we engage the questions of real life, know that at the end of the day these two things will be true:

  1. These questions will be answered because I won’t tolerate B.S. or superficiality, and instead will choose to be honest and address difficult or taboo topics, even to the point of making us both uncomfortable, because Jesus loves you in those messy places within you just as much as in the pretty ones.

  2. These answers, at their core, will always be the same, because I believe that Love is always the right answer.

“God is love.”

1 John 4:8