Evangelicals Abroad: A Shame Observed
Hannah is one of my new friends from the wonderful world of social media/blogging. She writes beautiful words about spiritual hurt and healing on Wine & Marble. I’m so grateful to Hännah for sharing her story here today. -Micah ______________________ Monetier-les-Bains, 2005. I was nestled up against the window, feasting on the green and gold of…
Hath God Said?
I have a three-year-old son who’s learned the authority that comes with citing a higher power. “Can I watch a show? Mommy said yes. Can I have candies? Mommy said yes. Can we go for a walk? Mommy said yes.” He tacks the magic words onto the end of his own ideas and hopes no one…
3 Reasons Why I Love Lightstock
When I’m not writing about church/culture/politics/sex-robots, occasionally I’m going to be blogging about blogging around here. I love writing, but I also really enjoy all the related web/social/design/networking that make up this whole crazy mess. So I guess this is a pretty good place to start, because every good blog/post should have good a good…
Don't Be a Friend of Sinners
When I was growing up Christians didn’t hang out with sinners. Sinners hung out at bars and Christians avoided them – bars and sinners both – so as to not spoil our testimony for the Lord. After all, one drop of muddy water ruins the whole glass. It was of utmost importance to avoid all…
What The West Wing Taught Me About Writing
I sit here writing words onto the internet and the only face I see is my own reflected in the screen. Sometimes this is a scary hobby. Sometimes I meet people in real life who have read my words and then I feel a little bit naked, because I write stuff onto the internet that…
5 Reasons I Am Reformed
I had a bad experience with Reformed theology. But my bad experience is by no means representative of Reformed theology, nor of those who embrace it. Rather, I’ve found that some of the most genuine, humble, and thoughtful Christians I know consider themselves Reformed. Especially Nate Pyle. He’s a pastor/blogger who I’ve grown to respect for…
Why We Left the Church (Our Stories)
We are an entire generation with the broken pieces of our religion scattered on the floor around us. We are the children who learned fake smiles too early, who found all the right answers dissatisfying, who know what it’s like to sit in a pew with our hearts a thousand miles away. For us, Sunday…
The Problem with 'Church'
We have a problem. “Church.” I hear this word a lot, but lately it seems that we’re mostly talking past each other. Words only work as long as we can agree on a shared definition. The problem with “church” is that it means so many different things: The global body of believers in Jesus through all…
Centerfold Church
Sometimes you forget you are a Bride. On Sunday mornings you trade your wedding gown for the perfect skin of a magazine model. Produced, choreographed, airbrushed, packaged, sold for consumption. The countdown timer signals the bass drop and with a practiced smile you self-consciously raise your hands (for maximum visual impact). Sometimes you forget you are…
When Theology and Story Collide
The word “story” has become a bit of a cliché by now. Words only have meaning because we agree that they do, but most days I’m not even sure what this one is supposed to mean anymore. When I was in college a few years ago, it was all we talked about. We weren’t video editors…
The Happy Ending
Justin Robinson is a friend, a filmmaker, and an all-around cool guy. He’s one of the most ambitious and hard-working gentlemen I know on both ends of the camera, plus he does stunts and loves Jesus. I really appreciate what goes on inside his head when he thinks about films, and I’m very stoked that…
Safely To Arrive At Home
“Here I raise my Ebenezer, Here by Thy great help I come And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.” I can’t think of any better words to begin this story. This morning I was thinking about that old hymn while I was getting ready for work, about raising an Ebenezer to remember the work of…
5 Reasons I Reject Unconditional Election
“Unconditional election is God’s free choice before creation, not based on foreseen faith, to which traitors he will grant faith and repentance, pardoning them, and adopting them into his everlasting family of joy.” – John Piper Once upon a time, I stopped believing in God because of unconditional election. I couldn’t get over the question…
If the World Wants a Sign
We talk about stories a lot around here, especially the redemption stories God is writing in our lives. If you follow Pastor Jonathan Martin on Twitter, you know he has a tendency to preach spontaneous sermons 140 characters at a time that make you want to retweet every phrase. But these words from him about…
I Am Not a Sex-Fueled Robot
They say that men give love to get sex, and women give sex to get love. If this is true, then marriage is nothing but a market exchange where we trade emotion for flesh in a desperate attempt to satisfy our own cravings. If this is true, I am simply a customer settling a invoice…
