Category Archives: Life Lessons

Sin, Schemes, and Comedy

Posted on 04/17/2013 | 6 comments

For my new followers, I’m a junior software developer. This means I have one of those jobs where I could be busy 8 hours a day actively programming something (read: systematically killing my brain), or have a lot of down time while I’m waiting to see if the application I’m working on breaks. Sometimes I’ll read blogs, or if my brain needs a recharge I’ll watch funny videos on YouTube. Usually that will be blooper scenes from TV shows I like, or random seemingly related videos. Maybe it’s been a while since I’ve watched real TV instead of Netflix, or maybe it’s because I’ve been reading Tempted and Tried, or maybe the Holy Spirit has just opened my eyes. Whichever the case, I realized something that disturbed me deeply.
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Posted in Pop Culture, Theology

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On Not Being a Runner

Posted on 03/25/2013 | 1 comment

It was 1:30am the last time I looked at my phone, desperate for sleep. Then I hear Green Day’s “Longview” blaring before I realized I’d fallen asleep. It’s 5:30am and I’m supposed to go run the race I’ve been looking forward to for months. I barely resisted the urge to throw my phone across the room, and hit snooze instead. Ten minutes later I’m staggering around my apartment trying to convince myself I can do this as I get dressed, despite knowing that I’m not ready for it. I picked up my phone to look at the weather app: 41 degrees.
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Posted in Life Lessons

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336 Million Unheard Voices

Posted on 03/23/2013 | 5 comments

I grew up in church. I grew up seeing Felt-board Jesus every Sunday, and His friends; Moses, Noah, Peter, and John. I grew up believing in Jesus, but never really understanding the full weight of the gospel. Maybe I heard it and missed it. Maybe it was just part of growing in the Lord and closer to Him, something that happens over time. As part of all of this, my understanding of missions was reduced to once a year having different missionaries whom our church sponsored talk about what they do and where they do it. Missions was people being crazy enough to go live somewhere else and be uncomfortable while telling people about Jesus instead of doing it right here. I got the importance of it, and that it was a command, but I never got the weight of it. Not until today.
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Posted in Gospel and Politics, Life Lessons, Theology

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Toxic Masculinity : The Wrong Approach

Posted on 03/16/2013 | 2 comments

Today, I read an article by Jaclyn Friedman about how the misunderstanding of what “masculine” means is a big factor behind rape. The catalyst for this article is an incident that happened last summer when “…two young football players in the Ohio town of Steubenville carried the unconscious body of a local girl from party to party, violating her in ways you’d probably prefer not to think about.”

Friedman then identifies the core issue as one of “toxic masculinity” and supports her statement by using events surrounding the investigation into this horrible tragedy. And, you know what? I agree with her on that. For the most part, we have the idea of “masculine” very wrong. But her approach to correcting the issue is either dead wrong at worst, or incomplete at best.

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Posted in Bible Study, Life Lessons, Theology, Toxic Masculinity

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Faith, Rejection, and the Christian Label

Posted on 03/15/2013 | 4 comments

Today, I read an article in Relevant magazine that honestly just bothered me. It’s about why Marcus Mumford, front man for the band Mumford & Sons, doesn’t want to identify himself as a Christian. This isn’t to say that he isn’t a follower of Christ, but that he doesn’t want to be associated with a religious label that has “so much baggage.” Do I think there’s anything special about the label “Christian”? Well, yes and no. Can someone live a life following Jesus, live openly and deeply with other Christ followers, and step through the gates to eternal life with those who do embrace the label “Christian” even though they don’t embrace that label? Yes. Absolutely. But, I think there are some implications here that are worth considering, because this isn’t just about one person not liking a label. It’s about a culture that doesn’t want to confess anything that might offend someone.
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Posted in Life Lessons, Theology

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