Faith Redefined & The Evangelical Disconnect
Faith is a pivotal point in Evangelicalism. Recently, I was working on a client website, an Evangelical organization I have personal experience with from my time as a pastor. In…
An Evangelical Intervention: When Patriotism Becomes Idolatry
There's a dissonance, a discordant note that cannot be ignored. It's skewed, and ripe for manipulation and exploitation. Perhaps it feels comfortable, a familiar battle cry that resonates within your echo chambers. But if it incites anger and shuts down genuine dialogue, if it echoes the same primal sins that have plagued humanity since Cain and Abel, then it's demonstrably not the Gospel Jesus preached.It's precisely this distorted gospel that's hemorrhaging members from churches across the nation. It's the reason a new generation, the "Exvangelicals" and "Deconstructionists" you readily dismiss, are walking away. They're the fruit of a poisonous tree, a movement born out of disillusionment and a desperate yearning for authenticity. They are a living testament to the corrosive effects of a gospel that has lost its way.
From Honesty To Heresy:Rethinking What We Hold Certain
For years, I felt like a fraud, an imposter. It's something psychological like many people experience. I was a pastor, but deep down, my own beliefs were at odds with the doctrines I preached. I had a self-destructive habit of preventing myself from being fully authentic. I wasn't healthy. Leading a church terrified me. This internal conflict eventually led to a breakdown, and it took a rock bottom to force me to confront my fears and the issues within the church itself. I'm not the only one. It's amazing what a simple shift in perspective can do…eh, church?
Love Thy Neighbor, Not Thy Cause:Examining The Rainbow’s Genesis
PRIDE Month is that time of year when rainbow flags are everywhere. On the interwebs, repeated posts from our Christian brothers and sisters appeared discussing the merits of LGBTQ’s choice…
Egongelicalism #1: The Clash of Ego in Evangelicalism
The work of creating an image of myself who already exists, the work of trying to push that up and out while keeping the real me hidden and safe inside, and the work of dealing with communication breakdowns so I can filter Reality for the sake of my Ego is exhausting and unsustainable. From Genesis 1-3 through the Gospels and to Revelation, Ego is humanity’s issue. Jesus's Gospel was clearly an invitation to kill our egos and do the opposite—love.
Let’s Talk Faith: Living Beyond Church Compliance
Faith is not an acknowledgment of truth or trusting in an eternal destination. It's much simpler. Faith is about this world and now. It's the story you decide to write. It's holding to a narrative and acting in such a way as if it were already true. Faith is messy because it head-on crashes into our current narrative. It’s choosing to let go of the ego, reacting differently, and living faithfully in daily moments. As Ted Lasso says, 'Belief doesn’t happen just because you put it on a wall.' Faith is about living in love and goodness, committing to a way of life that changes the narrative for ourselves and those around us.
We Could Be AntiChrist: The Real Antichrists in John’s Epistles
Let's consider how our fascination with finding antichrists assumes that we aren't one. Christianity has been around now for 2000 years - that's a lot of generations of humans. What if we have been in the church and in the gospel of an antichrist the whole time? What if we are "the antichrist"? What if we've been looking at the Gospel wrong all along? The Gospel then might seem, to us antichrists, as a wrong gospel.
Faith Doesn’t Matter: The Implications of 1 Corinthians 13
Love is greater than faith. In the Christian realm of systematic theology, this could shake people to their existential core. Paul had no problem voicing Love matters more in every way that matters than Faith. It's the same thing he said in the opening verses: if you have faith but not love, you're nothing and gain nothing. James' stance on good work equaling faith is basically the same concept: real faith produces good works (all examples "loving" people) or else that faith is dead.
Good & Bad Figs: Is Our Faith Rotten?
God seems a lot less concerned with a nation's status and reputation in the world than we are. God doesn't see nations as set realities. They, like clouds, exist from the ones before and will be recycled. Nations come and go but God wants the heart of people. Later, He would intentionally drive Nebuchadnezzar crazy just to teach him that human kingdoms are delusional. The Apostles still thought Jesus was going to "restore the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6) after his resurrection. God has been up to something much bigger for a lot longer. His actual Kingdom is "not of this world" (John 17:16).
Shedding Layers: My Journey of Deconstruction Here
The lead-up to Easter was a whirlwind of emotions. Layers of insecurity peeled back, revealing a raw sense of self. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. Sobriety had brought progress, but purpose remained elusive. I was deconstructing the "me" I thought I was, desperately searching for the "me" I was meant to be. Fear, especially the fear of what others thought, had long been a snare. But as I surrendered to a higher power and embraced the true Gospel message, a newfound peace settled in. It wasn't about escaping the storm, but learning to navigate it with a more open heart. "Egongelical" – that's the word I came up with to describe this new faith journey, one that integrates psychology, mindset, and a healthy understanding of self with the core tenets of Christianity.
