A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about how blown away I have been by the response to Pope Francis, particularly by those who have no faith and those who are typically hostile towards religion. I pointed out that the comment sections of the articles and blogs about Pope Francis, which typically are filled with vile, hateful words, were instead overflowing with support. But I also mentioned that I feared drawing attention to the unprecedented support he was... Read more

Oh, Third Eagle of the Apocalypse, how I’ve missed you. It’s been a while since I’ve shared the genius of William Tapley and his prophetic insights into important subjects like the phallic evil of the Denver International Airport or how Gangnam Style and Call Me Maybe were really warnings about the antichrist. Well, Tapley is back (with some bling!!) to let us know that the knockout games which are supposedly are sweeping the nation right now, are actually “prophetic warnings... Read more

Ok, so this may be more for the kid at heart than your actual kids, but if you love the Bible (or are just aware of its existence) and you’ve got a sense of humor, then this may be the perfect Christmas present for you or for one of your friends…to give you. It’s called the Awkward Moments (Not Found In Your Average) Children’s Bible – Vol. 1. I’ve only seen these pictures that my friend Kristen Howerton over at... Read more

(image courtesy of Shannan Martin)   All hell broke loose when we adopted a 19-year old convicted felon and welcomed him into our home. The problem wasn’t him, or at least he wasn’t the biggest problem. The problem wasn’t us, or at least we weren’t the biggest problem. The poker-hot problem was the voice of other Christians in our ear. A few understood, but most didn’t. A few dared to air their fears out loud. Many wouldn’t. We continued to... Read more

(H/T) I hit a turning point in my life when I stopped being a religious fundamentalist. When I say “religious fundamentalist” I’m not talking about the Westboro Baptist Church kind of fundamentalists, those people are whacked. I wanted to be more like the Duggar family (which some would argue are pretty whacked too). I learned about this guy named Jesus when I was 17. I was a sad sack of depression and teenaged angst, so when I heard about this... Read more

(H/T) I will never forget the shock and confusion in my wife’s voice when I told her that I believed in evolution. I wasn’t ready to come out of the closet quite yet, but secret conversations about my belief in evolution were on the verge of being exposed and I knew I had to confess before she found out from someone else. I could tell implications of such a statement passed like a whirlwind through her mind. She knew I... Read more

(H/T)   When I was a child growing up in Pentecostal churches the phrase “turn or burn” meant mouthing a panicked sinner’s prayer or burning eternally in the Monster God’s hellfire. Today as my heart breaks again for my friend, Jerry, that phrase unexpectedly returned to my mind. Less than a month ago Jerry lost his beloved brother suddenly in an accident. Today, just minutes ago, Jerry emailed me that his sister, the remaining half of his spiritual arsenal; his... Read more

(H/T)   Louis C.K.’s rant on texting and sadness made the rounds on the internet a couple of months ago. He says the reason people pick up their phones to text is because they begin to feel the “forever empty” underlying our lives and we interrupt the path to experiencing true sadness with our gadgets. “Sadness is poetic, we’re lucky to feel sad,” he says. This youtube clip got more than 5 million views and was reported  by major media outlets... Read more

(H/T) My friend Eric has a saying: “Don’t be nice, be kind. Being nice is about you. Being kind is about others.” — American Christian culture is often fronting. There are certainly all kinds of people in all kinds of subcultures that front, but when we Christians do it, it’s especially frustrating because we basically front for God. To put it in terribly generic 80’s rap terms (I am obviously old and not very knowledgable about rap), we have a... Read more

(H/T) I am so thrilled to be writing for Zack today as and his wife navigate the turbulent waters of being new parents. Now, my wife and I do not have kids.  And although there are a lot of couples that are willingly childless, Cheri and I have been pursuing serious fertility treatment for a couple of years now.  So when Zack asked me to do this, I jokingly said I’d write something about childless people trying to be happy... Read more