Fear. The fear that I was taught to embrace as a conservative evangelical was the reason that cracks began to form in the shell of my blind allegiance to the doctrines and dogmas that I had been implored to believe in. I was taught to fear hell, fear God, fear modern technological innovations and anyone politician who suggested a peace plan for the Middle East because these were a sure signs that the anti-Christ was about to rise and the... Read more

I often have conversations with non-affirming, traditionalist Christians who look at me with desperation in their eyes and say, “Brandan, I’m not homophobic. I’m not a bigot. I just cannot come to the same position as you based on my reading of the Bible. What am I supposed to do? How do I love LGBT+ people in my community?” I understand the struggle. I don’t believe that all non-affirming Christians are homophobic or bigots. I believe many have really good intentions. But often, their good intentions are... Read more

Hey friends- I am beginning to do weekly video blogs where I rant about a topic relating spirituality, sexuality, politics, or social renewal. It’s my way to keep having conversations with you all without having to write so much (I’m in grad school and working on a book, so I’m a bit drained!) I hope you’ll interact with these videos and share your thoughts! This week, I talk about the “sin of certainty” based on my friend Pete Enns new... Read more

Here we are once again. Once again, those motivated by fear, by anger, by deep anguish within their own souls have made the choice to take the lives of dozens of other people and throw a nation, and indeed, the world, into a state of peril. Every time we hear about a terrorist attack in the media, there is an immediate sense of solidarity with the people who were attacked. We must stand with Brussels. Pray for Brussels. We must... Read more

Earlier this week, an old post of mine started to recirculate called “A Letter To A Dying Church From A Millennial”, in which I express my frustration with the way Christian churches have begun to look and lay out a vision for what I think church leaders need to do in order to “survive” the great “decline” that so many of our denominations are experiencing. As I read through the post, I still resonated with many of the ideas. But I... Read more

A Note From The Curator: “The Other Side” is a blog series hosted here on Patheos which takes selected stories submitted to the “Our Witness” project and shares them with a wider audience. The purpose of this series is the platform the unheard stories of LGBT+ Christians experience at Christian colleges and universities, and how they have overcome great pain at the hands of Christian leaders with their faith intact. It is my hope that these stories will counter the all... Read more

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” These are the words being spoken by Christian clergy around the world today as the faithful gather to commemorate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian liturgical season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is a day that calls us to remember our finitude, the impermanence of every aspect of our lives. It is a day when we recall all of our weaknesses and remember just how much we are in... Read more

There comes a point for many of us when everything seems to go from a sharp black and white to a dozen shades of grey. All of the things we once were so sure about in life now become up for grabs. All of our desires, beliefs, and convictions begin to seem a lot less resolute, and we begin to feel like the ground beneath us is beginning to crumble. We try to grasp on to something to give us... Read more