Thirteen years ago, after my husband succumbed to colon cancer, I became a single parent to our three sons, ages 9, 12, and 13. I quickly learned that our life as a single-parent family would be dramatically different than it had been when we were a married-parent family, and we found that to be especially true in the place where we most needed stable belonging: the church. The American church is a very married place, with a very specific definition of “family.” My boys and I no longer fit the Christian family mold, which assumes two parents because that’s the way God designed families. Church ..read more

“Can I make it through November?” Maybe you’ve asked yourself that question recently. The last two elections were hard on your church, and you’re not sure you can white-knuckle your way through another. Maybe you’ve considered speaking up on a Sunday morning, but just thinking about what your inbox will look like on Monday fills you with anxiety. Almost anything you can think to say about the political chaos infecting the American church is likely to upset someone. Maybe you’ll just stay quiet. Keeping your head down until the election is over might prevent another round of tense conversations ..read more

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. 2 Corinthians 1:3–5 NLT My husband, Nick, struggles with going to church on Father’s Day. I struggle going to church on Mother’s Day. It’s difficult to attend when these services focus on celebrating and honoring the very people we long to be—parents. When I have attended church on these days and been met with the inevitable “Happy Mother’s Day!” I’ve smiled and said, “Thank you” but felt the hurt inside. The well-intentioned greeter doesn’t realize the depth of pain just below the surface. At the height of our fertility treatme ..read more

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:10–16 Do we have to?” I grumbled. My husband, Colin, gave me a patient We’ve-already-been-through-this look and replied, “Yes. We need it.” We had just started attending a new church and were on our way to our first life group get-together. Colin thought we should go to meet other couples. I thought a root canal sounded more fun than a dinner party with strangers who probably all had kids. Infertility can complicate our relationship with ch ..read more

If there’s one thing pastors can be certain of these days it is that their congregations are being discipled by well-funded and aggressive cultural forces to follow their own hearts. Eighty-four percent of Americans believe that “the highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible.” Eighty-six percent believe that to be fulfilled requires you to “pursue the things you desire most.” A whopping ninety-one percent believe that “the best way to find yourself is to look within yourself.” We must recognize that the call to follow our hearts, put our enjoyment first, and look within for ans ..read more

If you’ve ever been to a large family reunion, then perhaps you’ll know the feeling of being surprised that all of the people gathered there are part of the same family – your family! Some of them you probably know well, some of them you may know only distantly or through stories that have been shared, and some of them you might be meeting for the first time. One of the many images that Scripture uses to describe those who confess a common faith in Jesus Christ is that of a family (Rom. 8:29; Gal. 6:10; 1 Peter 2:17). By God’s grace, we are adopted into the family of faith (Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1 ..read more

We sat down with author John Inazu to discuss his new book Learning to Disagree and how he thinks pastors can use his book as a tool to help their congregations navigate our current cultural climate, where it seems we've lost the ability to talk, worship and live in community with people with whom we may disagree.  What is this book about? Learning to Disagree follows a year in my life as a law professor. Its story-based format canvasses a range of challenging issues, including critical race theory, religion and patriotism, campus protests, and clashes over religious freedom. The ane ..read more

Ministry is exhausting. This is true for the church planter who is just getting his core group together or the minister who’s had years of ministry experience. Exhaustion in ministry is real, and burnout seems to come for the best of us. But it doesn’t have to. It is quite possible to do all that God has called you to do, but it requires us to return to the humble way of Christ. Humility may be an unexpected suggestion, but it honestly shouldn’t be. Humility was the very thing that set the first-century church apart. Our modern context is not so different from the first-century church. The con ..read more

Recently I was standing in line at Heart Coffee. Portland, Oregon is home for me, and while our city’s most broadly read press clippings haven’t been particularly favorable these last few years, we still have the best coffee in the country, hands down. I’m normally a “brew at home” kind of guy, but on Sundays, I often indulge in the second cup buzz from one of our city’s many offerings on my way into church for a full day of worship gatherings. So there I am in a particularly long line among the weekend crowd at Heart, and I noticed something interesting: I was the only person in line not look ..read more

Jesus does and says so many remarkable things. But this one in the gospel of Matthew is . . . well, I can’t describe how wonderfully unique this is: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30 NIV) This is God’s message to us? “I’m offering rest. Partner with me, and you’ll find it.” Jesus offers rest because the way of living that Jesus gives us is deeply restful. We all live for so ..read more