Welcome to my blog
Why I Learn My Story
The Bible is written primarily in the narrative form, because humans are primarily narrative creatures. Our most deeply held, most animating beliefs, the ones that color our vision and construct the way we function in this world, are embedded not in logic, but in the narratives we internalize. Essentially, we are defined by our stories.…
The Hunger for Significance
Last month, I spoke with a friend who’s been noticing something that worries him. He recently helped host a conference for Christian students to bring revival onto school campuses, where they invited a bunch of famous pastors and worship leaders, and hundreds of fired up youth attended. The conference was an incredible time of empowerment,…
The Story That Makes Us
I recently discovered some new details about my parents’ marriage that explain so much about my family growing up. I’ve always viewed my childhood through a fog, a vague sadness that I couldn’t explain, but now I feel like I’m being brought back to the trauma of my childhood with a sharp clarity that’s smacking…
A Place to Start
I’m really fascinated by the magic of unlearned human expressions. No one has to teach a kid to laugh when he’s happy, to pout when he’s upset, or to jump up and down when he’s celebrating. It’s so normal, but still surprisingly difficult to understand. It’s as if our internal experiences of joy, anger, success,…
My Response to a Friend’s Question
“I have a friend who’s falling away… What do I say to her?” Hahahahaha. Sigh… I don’t know. The reality is hard to stomach: either your friend ultimately holds on somehow as she looks to God, or she just slips away. And only God can keep us to Himself… I don’t know. It’s times like these…
The Heart of a King
That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” Solomon replied, “…O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And…
“The man who loves God, is known by God.”
This is a repost from my previous blog, originally written on April 24, 2012. I wrote this when I was about two years into my first position as a youth pastor. God taught me a lot about what it means to love Him in my time there, at that little Temecula church in the middle of…
Resurrection and Life
Sometimes living is really hard for me. Some days the best I can do to cope is just distract myself with random crap to make it through the day without choking on this vague sense of disappointment in my life, to just survive the emptiness. It’s that kind of day where it’s bluntly clear that…
The Way Home
This is a repost from my previous blog, originally written on July 2, 2013. I’m thankful to revisit this blog today. It was my reflection during a time of big transition in life. I’m in the middle of a new life transition again, but God’s reminding me that it’s just a part of a story He…
Searching for the Present
This is a repost from my previous blog, written on October 1, 2012. In the past few years, the power of narrative has been shaping the way I understand the human experience. This blog was an expression of my personal pain, but I believe it touches on our deep need for meaning, for significance, and…
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