My Joseph Journey – The Prison Staff
I use the term prison staff to keep the label deliberately ambiguous. Most outsiders would simply call them “guards” collectively. Most insiders call them [...]
Christian Living
Building a Nation of Compromise
I’m talking about politics as much as religion in this series. At least on the surface. Feel free to move along to something more innocuous (like dwarf bunnies) if you [...]
Confronting Boundaries — Part 1
I recently wrote about my recognition that some boundaries aren’t as universally absolute as some Christians believe. Murder is wrong across the board, but can the same [...]
Pierced for Our Fashions
Apart from keeping all those small kiosks in malls busy, are there serious consequences to wearing such jewelry? Don't some people say the Bible says we're not supposed to pierce our bodies? [...]
The Prevarication of Privacy – Part 2
"Privacy" is highly valued, but is it highly valuable? We've seen how the family unit breaks down under all the efforts to keep a personal sense of privacy, even in that relational context. This was not always the way. In most of the past, marriage, childbearing, and the broader social dynamic were far more intimate. They lived life together. [...]
Preaching Hell like New Testament Authors
Aside from Jesus, do we see the New Testament authors and influencers participating in or instructing us to preach hell? [...]
Living in a Nation of Assumers
Note that this post contains words that may offend certain readers. If you’re offended by these words, feel free to skip reading this post and move on to less offensive [...]
My Joseph Journey – Prison Food
It seems silly to comment on prison food, but you'd be surprised. There's a lot to be said about the overall experience. [...]
Family – the Need for Platonic Intimacy
Merriam-Webster lists eight distinct definitions for “family”, and five of the eight relate specifically to people. It’s not a simple concept in denotative [...]
Navigating a Nation with Abortion
I’m **talking about politics** as much as religion in this series. At least on the surface. Feel free to move along to something more innocuous (like [dwarf [...]
Elegant Integrity – a Complex Cosmos and an Infinite God
Realizing I live in a big, complex universe (and I serve an infinite God) challenged my black-and-white, linear, Evangelical thinking. [...]
Confronting Boundaries — Part 2
I take a systematic, methodical approach when confronting boundaries (or assessing any potential truth) because it produces reliable results. I've adapted John Wesley's quadrilateral to this task, since my personal boundaries are essentially doctrine or truth applied to me personally. [...]
Under the Needle – Tattoos in the Bible
It wasn’t that long ago when a man with tattoos would be shunned by society at large and likely barred from most churches. Today, getting ink done is far more widely [...]
My Joseph Journey – The Brothers
Prior to my prison sentence, I was a part of a vibrant, healthy, biblical church. Vibrant leaders led our church who were well-trained in theology and focused on integrity [...]
Loving in a Nation of Presumers
I’m talking about politics as much as religion in this series. At least on the surface. Feel free to move along to something more innocuous (like dwarf bunnies) if you [...]
Misogyny and Malarkey – Leadership
We’ve established that man and woman were created equal and that the “head of the household” label has more to do with responsibility and function than rank [...]
Questing with Integrity – Embracing Doubt, Curiosity, and Sometimes “Heresy”
There is such a thing as heresy, and the Bible is very clear about how we should handle it. But maybe we're too trigger-happy with that label. [...]
On the Shoulders
I believe this is one of the greatest times to be alive in the church. Yes, persecution exists in different forms in different places. Yes, there is a great resistance in [...]
Misogyny and Malarkey – Teachers
Why do we see Paul seem to go all macho in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 (NASB): "A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet." [...]
My Joseph Journey – The Inmates
I have always been a people watcher, but no mall, school, airport, or ComicCon could ever prepare me for the characters I'd get to watch in prison. [...]