From the invention of the printing press to the advent of the internet, the church has a pretty decent track record of leveraging new technology to further the mission of the church. However, the past five decades have seen more technological advancement than in the previous five centuries. As the rapidity of innovation continues to advance, fascinating ethical and moral conundrums are introduced quicker than we can form a coherent opinion on their application.  In this article, I will explore five future technologies that will pose significant moral dilemmas for the church’s future. I’ve ..read more

Every year on our wedding anniversary, I write an article documenting the discoveries we’ve made in the past year about our relationship and each other. I’ve written six of these articles thus far, and with the seventh, I decided to try something a little different. Instead of grouping the article into pre-determined categories, I opened up the curation of topics to my audience. In May of this year, I let my Instagram followers submit anonymous questions about our relationship they’d like me to cover in this year’s article.  I let people submit the questions anonymously because – as you’l ..read more

In September 2022, Pew Research Center released a startling report that claimed – in rather stark terms – “Christians could make up less than half of the U.S. population within a few decades.“ With headlines like “America’s Christian majority is on track to end” and “America’s Christian majority could end by 2070,” the report’s findings ricocheted across secular news outlets with an unmistakable hint of glee and schadenfreude. But for those of us in ministry (or who’ve simply been paying attention), the projections came as less of a surprise. Did we really need longitudinal survey data to tell ..read more

It’s worse than you think. Much worse. Before we begin, however, I want to apologize for the inflammatory nature of this article’s title. I’m not, typically, an alarmist or prone to hyperbole. I’d charitably describe my disposition as “cautious optimism.”  Many may dismiss the central idea in this article as “irresponsible,” “needlessly inflammatory,” and “implausible.” To be honest, I actually hope that turns out to be the case.  But, in the time it takes you to read this article, I aim to convince you that – while not inevitable – the looming threat of a Second American Civil War i ..read more

Let’s say you invented a time machine. But this time machine can only move in one direction through time: Backwards. Therefore, if you use the machine, there’s no coming back. So, here’s the question: Where would you go?  When would you choose to live? This inquiry is more complex than it initially appears. Strip the romanticism from any era of history, and you’re left with the unsettling reality that the fate of human society has often been at the mercy of disease, famine, and warfare — forces entirely outside the control of the average person. In The Better Angels of Our Nature, Steven ..read more

You have a secret you’ve never shared with anybody: You’ve always felt like an imposter at church. At praise and worship services, you’d stand when you were expected to stand, sing along with the words on the projection screen, and sometimes even raise your hands with your eyes closed (most often during the key change at the song’s bridge). But, if you’re honest with yourself (like, really honest), you didn’t do any of that because you felt a supernatural compulsion to do so. You did it because that’s what you thought you were supposed to do. You did it because you wanted to fit in. On church ..read more

We found ourselves in Iceland on our sixth wedding anniversary. It was our first “big” vacation in four years. Between moving to Colorado, buying a house, renovating said house, changing jobs, and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, international travel just wasn’t in the cards (or, to be honest, the budget). However, at the tail end of 2021, we decided it was time for a real vacation. So, we cashed in a lot of credit cards miles we’d accumulated (Pro tip: If you’re renovating a house, run every purchase and contract labor expense through a travel card), booked a flight to Iceland, a ..read more

If you’re involved in ministry, you’ve probably heard a lot about “deconstruction” recently. Framed as the new trendy threat to Christianity, deconstruction has become a “catch-all” term for a wide gamut of spiritual experiences. Depending on who’s using the word, deconstruction can be a complete demolition of Christian belief, a critical re-appraisal of one’s faith tradition, or an honest acknowledgment of doubt and questions. It also doesn’t help that awareness of the “deconstruction movement” is gaining more visibility when church membership and religious affiliation in the West are at an a ..read more

A lot of people often ask how I manage to read so much. Admittedly, I probably do read faster than the average person, but that’s only because I’ve been reading voraciously for most of my life. (And the goal should never be to speed through as many books as possible). The main reason I’m able to read so much is that I make time for reading. And that’s a lot easier than you think. The average person spends about two hours on social media a day. Ask yourself: When’s the last time scrolling through your social media feeds left you feeling less anxious or more fulfilled with your life? Probably ne ..read more

There was a time in my life when I repeated the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ a lot. In my faith tradition, Hell is humankind’s default destination. Like a pre-existing medical condition, everyone is born damned per the doctrine of Original Sin. And the only way to reroute your one-way ticket from eternal damnation to eternal paradise is to make a public confession of faith in Jesus to become a Christian before you die. Theologically, this view of Hell is referred to as “Eternal Conscious Torment.” And it’s pretty widespread. According to Pew Research, 82% of Evangelical Prot ..read more