Culture
After Three Beers
I want to be the person that I am after three beers. After three beers, I am unafraid. I dance without thinking about how I look, without trying to remember what my feet should be doing. After three beers, I don’t give a fuck what you think about me. I stop trying to impress you.…
Read More7 Books I Read in 2014
I am proud of myself. This year I read more than five books. Some of you read dozens, even hundreds. I did not. But I read more than five, which is an improvement over last year. Here are a few of them: 1. GIRL AT THE END OF THE WORLD Elizabeth Esther’s brand-new memoir is…
Read MoreWhen We Throw Stones
“Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” That’s what they say, when religious leaders are questioned about their abusive and manipulative actions. “We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. You wouldn’t want somebody airing all your dirty laundry, would you?” As if building an multi-million-dollar “ministry” or “church” on the backs of vulnerable followers…
Read MoreOf Monsters and (Wo)men
Today Lindsay is sharing the story of how she’s fighting back against the darkness. She is honest, and brave. Let’s support her path to recovery (click here). 16. I am sitting in an uncomfortably hard blue chair in the guidance counselor’s office, staring at diplomas on the wall and cheesy motivational posters that are supposed to…
Read MoreI Don't Have My Shit Together + Free Wallpaper
“I don’t want to be a Christian writer, if it means writing from the heart and then hitting backspace until it feels safe again. I don’t want to be a Christian writer if it means I need to act like I have my shit together. Because the truth is, I don’t.” I think there’s a real…
Read MoreHow To Not Be Matt Walsh
This isn’t about Matt Walsh. Not really. We could just as easily talk about any number of blustering voices on talk radio or cable news or behind the pulpits of many churches. But right now the conversation is about Matt Walsh and the latest profoundly ignorant thing he wrote. So let’s talk about Matt Walsh.…
Read MoreIt's Not Your Fault
You see this, all this shit? It’s not your fault. I know… No you don’t. It’s not your fault. I know. No. Listen to me son. It’s not your fault. I know that. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. Don’t fuck with me, alright? Don’t fuck with me, Sean. Not you. It’s not your…
Read More3 Lies That Kept Me Trapped By Porn
I’ve read a lot of stuff about pornography, lust, and accountability. When I first glanced at My Chains Are Gone, I thought it was going to be more of the same. It wasn’t. David shares his journey to freedom with candor and clarity that is often missing from this conversation, especially in the church. While pornography and…
Read MoreWhy I Stopped Playing Violent Video Games
I didn’t get my first video-game console until after I was married. It was an old black Xbox, the kind my friends had owned years earlier. But video games had not been a part of my life in high school, and I was eager to make up for lost time. There’s an ongoing debate about…
Read MoreThe Benham Brothers, Evangelicals, and Bill Gothard
Earlier this month, I wrote about the deep connections between ousted cult leader Bill Gothard and high-profile Christians such as the Duggars and the family behind Hobby Lobby. Some people have asked why I continue to write about Gothard’s web, considering as he has resigned and those who had supported him previously probably didn’t know about…
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