Millennials and Religion: Will a Lost Generation Ever Be Found? In John Chapter 6 Jesus asks Peter, “Do you want to leave too?” and, Peter says, “Where else would I go, Lord…?” In this chapter, it seems clear, that Peter was definitely not a millennial[1]. It’s estimated that 8,000-10,000 churches will close their doors this year. I’m assuming that has something to do with the whopping 80% of the US adult cohort opting out of attending Church. This 80% includes many... Read more
“There is an abhorrent lack of knowledge for the damage and devastation that sexual assault brings…” — Rachael Denhollander The walls of our institutions are held up by the framework of patriarchy and white supremacy. Worst of all is that it’s hidden beneath the guise of what has been mislabeled as “sound theology.” Best of all, change is happening. It’s not just imminent; it’s right now. For Rachael Denhollander, and Abuse Victims, The Cost of Following Jesus is Apparently Being... Read more
On Sunday I went to my archives and reposted a guest post written by an anonymous author titled My “Affair” with a Youth Pastor, a commenter posted something interesting saying, “The clergy are in the top ten professions with the most psychopaths. It is easy to look it up on Google.” So, that’s just what I did, I Googled it. I first found the definition of a psychopath: And then I came across this post here written by Eric Barker... Read more
“13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” – 2 Corinthians 2:14 First… Being a pastor is tough. I’ll always try to be the first to say this. Every week you have to get up on stage and explain the unexplainable by somehow infusing hope into... Read more
Church hopping is a lot like seeing other people when you’re dating someone else. But, at the same time, nothing like that. Because I’m mainly doing this as a means of supporting friends that speak, preach, lecture or pastor locally. So, naturally, I’ve always done a bunch of “church-hopping”. Here’s the thing though, as I’ve been going to various East coast cities I’ve been disconcertingly noticing one consistency: These congregations, they’re all vastly homogeneous. Still, in 2018. 55 years after... Read more
In late August in the summer of 1968 a young civil rights activist took stage March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He declared a then-radical message of civil and economic equality proclaiming this: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!” The rest is history… (?) Yet, bigotry... Read more
TL;DR This year a group of my friends decided to spend Christmas together. We’re a very small circle and while we like to keep it small we love to invite others in. This Christmas we decided to invite as many people to the table as we possibly could. (Side note: It’s sadly surprising how many of us have nowhere to go on Christmas – I’m left wondering if this is something new, or if it’s always been this way?) Nonetheless, the more the... Read more
Honestly, I’m not sure where this uniquely ironic form of snobbery stemmed from but, I’ve seen it go viral here, here, and here…. (The last one is my favorite) It’s a sentiment seemingly shared by many… “There’s no depth!” “The compositional intelligence is low!” “Emotionalism isn’t worshiping!” As someone whose musical intelligence would be considered low to those who tend to tout these sentiments, all I hear is how I’m not at their level in regard to connecting with God;... Read more
Labels matter. Just think of your favorite brand names… what do they mean to you? How do these brands affect how you see others who wear them? We tend to associate certain types of people with certain types of brands. Supreme. Luis Vuitton. Nike. Starbucks. All the way to cars such as Ford, Tesla, or Honda… The images we associate with these brand names hold weight and enough power to them that they could make or break even the most... Read more
It’s bizarre, as I’ve disconnected from predominant privileged evangelicalism, how things I didn’t understand before now make complete sense; for instance, the birth of Jesus. I’m going to shoot rather low, in light of their evangelical “spirit of giving”, i.e. capitalism, but 80% of their story (the story we grew up on) is untrue. Even being liberal in my kindness and ignoring discrepancies historians say are otherwise incontrovertible… I can’t even say that their mythological version of this nativity story... Read more
Andy Gill
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