wRITING
Below are links to various pieces I’ve written for online and print publications.
THE CHALLENGE OF AUTHENTICITY IN PREACHING
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, May 2023
"Authenticity is the means not the end; the path not the destination; the baring of souls and stories for the sake of bearing witness to the One who can redeem and restore..."
TO BE FREE, YOU NEED SELF-CONTROL
THE GOSPEL COALITION, Dec 2022
“On the surface, self-control seems limiting, even stifling. But a life without limits is a life without freedom.”
3 PRACTICES TO CULTIVATE CONTENTMENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
CROSSWALK, August 2022
“Contentment in the digital age is found in embracing our weakness, admitting our flaws, being honest about hardships, and delighting in the way they draw us closer to Christ.”
TO WALK BY THE SPIRIT, YOU NEED ADAPTIVE CAPACITY
THE GOSPEL COALITION, August 2022
“We experience life through the Word and our church community as the Spirit leads and guides us, as we walk together, ready to adjust.”
WHEN WE SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, March 2022
“The Cross is the great revealer, exposing the temporary stuff of earth and directing our hearts and minds toward the everlasting substance of eternity.”
HOW TO CHURCH SHOP LIKE THE FIRST CHRISTIANS
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, January 2022
“Offering our devoted commitment to a local church—despite its inevitable flaws and shortcomings—can help us weather the significant storms of life and faith in the long term.”
GENEROSITY IS LIBERATION
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, September 2021
“We relinquish greed and scarcity and in return receive freedom and life. Generosity is liberation.”
Doubt, deconstruction, and patient faith
THE GOSPEL COALITION, May 2021
“When we’re overwhelmed by the crease patterns of questions and doubts, we need deep breaths and even deeper prayers.”
should online church continue after the pandemic?
THE GOSPEL COALITION, March 2021
“There is grieving, rejoicing, feasting, and everything in between to be done—together, embodied, and fully present as one.”
What we learned about the embodied church during the pandemic
CHRISTIANITY TODAY (Jesus Creed Blog), March 2021
“We are made of dust and dirt, life breathed into us, animating and energizing us to live and move as embodied humans in God's embodied world.”
INAUGurations & image bearing
THE GOSPEL COALITION, January 2021
“While many Christians might bear the name of Christ, it isn’t clear that they bear his image.”
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD
MISSIO ALLIANCE, January 2021
“May we remember God’s faithfulness, guiding us with settled confidence into an unknown future.”
hope is an expectant leap
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, December 2020
“Christian hope is not wishful thinking. Christian hope is an expectant leap forward. We take action. We live in motion.”
Preaching with distress & reason
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, November 2020
“Preaching is a challenging endeavor. But with distress as the starting point and reason as the ensuing path, everything begins to open up.”
technology can’t replace in-person community
ERLC, July 2020
“I’ve seen people bearing one another’s burdens in very visceral, real-time, real-life ways; an analog leaning, if you will.”
Living in uncertain times
INHERITANCE MAGAZINE, June 2020
“We can walk alongside people, with all of their anxieties, frustrations, and confusion, down unpaved paths. We can cast light as we walk patiently and carefully ahead of those we lead, taking one step at a time, pointing to a brighter, more hopeful future.”
GEorge floyd, empathy, & making room for the fire
MISSIO ALLIANCE, May 2020
“Maybe, in times like these for leaders like me, to empathize is to create the necessary space, offer the necessary invitation, and lend the necessary listening ear.”
Renewal in the valley of the pandemic
MISSIO ALLIANCE, May 2020
“There is a beautiful partnership and cohesion between renewal by confession and the renewing of our minds. With the former, we release the toxicity of sin within. With the latter, we receive the life-giving truths of God.”
community in a time of social distancing
OUTREACH MAGAZINE, April 2020
“We are embodied people who need other embodied people. The life of following Jesus is communal.”
thinking deeply & leaning in during covid
PASTOR RESOURCES, April 2020
“In this time, the greatest gift we can offer our churches is the gift of leaning in, doing our absolute, creative best to overcome the digital walls which divide us, and show up as much as possible, as disembodied as our presence may be for the time being.”
taking church online in a coronavirus age
THE GOSPEL COALITION, March 2020
“It is of utmost importance that we clarify this digital reality as a temporary compromise rather than an ongoing convenience.”
francis chan & the extraordinary mundane
RELEVANT MAGAZINE, January 2020
“As with gardening or fishing, there are long stretches of watching and waiting. But we must remember that this is not inactivity. In the soil and beneath the water, in places we can’t see, in ways we can’t comprehend, work is being done.”
sticking with community in a ‘gotta go’ world
THE GOSPEL COALITION, January 2020
“In the digital age, there’s always somewhere else to go, someone else to see, something else to do. Constant stimulation has made us fear boredom. But it’s also damaged our ability to relationally connect.”
IS JESUS THE SURGEON OR THE SCALPEL?
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, March 2019
“If Jesus is not always the destination, then the journey we’re taking is headed in the wrong direction..”
don’t just make a point. make a difference.
RELEVANT MAGAZINE, December 2018
“Making a difference inherently requires that we begin with the posture of a learner, listening intently in order to immerse ourselves in stories that are not our own.”