“God hates divorce.”

This biblical phrase has been weaponized like few others and used to hurt so many people.

More often than not, it is wielded in a way that enables oppression and abuse--the exact opposite of God's desire for humanity.

A thread... A woman in our church spent years in an abusive marriage because her previous pastor quoted this verse to her.

She told me, "I came in with bruises on my arms and he said, 'I know it’s painful now, but it’s nothing compared to the pain of God’s wrath that comes with divorce.'"

Many of Haiti's ongoing problems are the direct result of reparations.

Not reparations paid to formerly enslaved people and their descendants—that has never happened.

These reparations were paid to enslavers by the people they enslaved.

You need to know this story… In 1791, self-liberated slaves rose up against French colonial rule and what became known as the Haitian Revolution began.

It ended in 1804 with Haiti declaring its independence from France, but the French refused to recognize Haitian independence for another 20 years.

I turned 35 back in December. You know what else turned 35 years old in December of 2023? Complementarianism.

Complementarianism (the theology which deems women to be equal in worth to men; but lesser in function and hierarchy) is NOT the traditional teaching of the church.

🧵 Complementarianism was invented in December of 1988.

Denny Burk describes how it happened in his 2019 article: What’s In A Name? The Meaning and Origin of “Complementarianism”

I met my first love in a 6th grade English class.

I was so disruptive that my teacher moved my desk into the corner of the room and then put a tri-fold gym mat around me so I couldn’t see anything except the wall.

The person closest to me was a girl named Amy... My first day in behind the mat, I forgot my pencil. I obviously didn’t want to get in even more trouble, so I cautiously peaked my head over the top of the mat when my teacher turned around to write on the board.

I whispered, "Amy!" And then asked if I could borrow a pencil.

Hot take on the He Gets Us ad from the Super Bowl:

Yes, the money certainly could have been better spent on poverty alleviation.

Yes, I have a serious concerns about the backers.

BUT “Jesus doesn’t hate anyone” is a fundamentally good message, especially as a counter to the rapidly growing Christo-fascist movement in this country, and I’m glad 200 million Americans saw it. The primary message of last night's ad was very clearly "Jesus doesn't hate anyone" which means that if someone is hating in the name of Jesus, they aren't actually following him.

The secondary message was that Jesus would serve oppressed and marginalized people, and his followers should too.

Those messages completely undermine Christo-fascism. They also push people away from hate-filled churches and toward affirming and justice-centered ones.

Christmas is our annual reminder that when God decided to put on flesh and enter the world he created, he chose to do so as a marginalized person on behalf of marginalized people everywhere.

Jesus was born poor--to a scandalized teenage mom and a blue collar stepdad. His people were living under oppressive occupation and he was from a town no one liked (“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”).

First recognized as Messiah by social outcasts and pagan magicians, Jesus spent his early years on the run as a refugee in a foreign land.

I want to tell y'all a story about the transformational power of Jesus' love in faith spaces committed to flourishing for all people.

This is not my story, but it is shared with permission.

I met Kayla about 5 years ago after she moved to Austin to pursue her doctorate... Every Sunday, I offer to get coffee with anyone who comes to our church for the first time so they can ask questions and feel more comfortable.

Kayla took me up on my offer and during that coffee meeting she told me something she’d only told a couple of other people—she was gay.

Everything doesn’t happen for a divine reason.

God isn’t orchestrating every earthly event.

We have to stop attributing the evil actions of humans to a loving God.

Thread (🧵) There are really hard things happening all around us, and I know we want to comfort those who are hurting, but please resist the urge to respond to tragedy with trite platitudes like...

“This is all a part of God’s plan.”
“Nothing happens outside of God’s will.”
“Everything is orchestrated by God for his glory.”

Original Sin vs Chosen Sin

When I push back against “original sin,” many assume I’m claiming we are all sinless. That could not be further from the truth. As Paul says, “we all sin and fall short of God’s glory.”

So what’s the difference between original sin and chosen sin?

🧵 There are many great resources that delve into the more academic arguments against original sin, and I am happy to point you to them if you’re interested, but that’s not what I’m doing here.

I want to take a moment to tell you how (1) original sin strips God-given agency away from individuals, (2) discourages us from following the Way of Jesus, and (3) portrays a picture of humanity wholly incompatible with being created in God’s image.

Did you know that, in Texas, animal shelters are required to have air conditioning but prisons are not?

Over 2/3rds of incarcerated folks in our state do not have air conditioning and during the hottest parts of the day, most inmates are locked in their cells where temperatures exceed 130 degrees.

Some are having daily heat seizures, others are dying… About 14 inmates die every year in Texas due to excessive heat caused by a lack of air conditioning and 41 have already died this summer.

Incarcerated folks are so hot that they’re literally using toilet water to try and cool off.

A friend of mine who is currently locked up described it to me in a recent phone call as “hell on earth.”

My youngest has always wanted light-up sneakers, so we bought him a pair for his first year in elementary school.

After we dropped him off on his first day, I opened socials to take my mind off missing him and came across a video about back to school safety…

🧵 It was a young mom enumerating things to do that will increase the likelihood that your child stays safe.

One of the main messages: Do not buy your kids light-up shoes.

Why?

Because if kids are hiding from a school shooter in a dark closet, the light-up shoes give them away.

Why do male pastors fight so hard to preserve patriarchy?

Why did the largest Protestant denomination in America (the Southern Baptist Convention) just excommunicate churches for ordaining women?

Because without this very strict hierarchy, their power FALLS APART.

🧵 This is the original umbrella illustration used by Bill Gothard and IBLP, as seen on #ShinyHappyPeople.

But in practice there is another umbrella between Christ and the husband—the pastor.

In these circles, the pastor tells the husband what Jesus wants.

Want to know just how much the toxic ideology from #ShinyHappyPeople (Bill Gothard, Duggars, IBLP, etc.) infiltrated mainstream evangelicalism?

This true story takes place at one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the world and it’s called Sex, Supper and Submission… During my first two years in seminary I worked at a 45,000 member SBC church in the Dallas area.

A few months after we got married, my wife, Amy, and I attended a class for newly married couples at the church.

It was called After You Say I Do.

Trying to silence and sideline women is anything but “biblical.”

In fact, the Bible is filled with women leading, preaching, and pastoring.

Here are a few…

1. Deborah - judge and prophet, exercising full authority over the nation of Israel (Judges 4-5) 2. Huldah - prophet and Torah expert, she authorized the canonization of the core of the Old Testament (2 Kings 22)

3. Esther - queen and liberator of God’s people (book of Esther)

4. Hagar - an enslaved single-mother, she was the first person to name God (Gen 16)

I cried when I saw this Ted Lasso scene last week.

Like pause-the-show-ask-my-wife-to-hand-me-the-tissues cried.

I’ve been trying to discern why it was so moving ever since and I think I finally figured it out:

Colin is just like so many of queer members of our church… What Colin expresses here is what the LGBTQ+ folks I pastor say to me all the time.

They don’t want to be spokespeople or activists.
They don’t want every sermon to be about affirming theology.

They just want to be treated like every other church member.

Modesty is an important virtue discussed throughout Scripture, but it has nothing to do with sexuality.

Every time modesty is mentioned in the Bible it refers wealth and materialism.

In order to make biblical modesty about sex, preachers often manipulate passages.

For example: “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety…

[pastors stop here to start condemning yoga pants, but Paul continues]

adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds...” 1 Timothy 2:9-10

God, Guns, Thoughts and Prayers

A fable about gun violence in America.

There once was a country was plagued by mass shootings, so they prayed to God for help… Soon a bill was written to make it harder for violent people to get guns including universal background checks, a national registration database, and red flag laws.

But the country said, “No, we don’t need that. We are praying to God for help.”

So the bill was voted down.

There are two kinds of “everyone is welcome” churches:

1. Everyone is welcome to conform to the church’s image of what a Christian looks like.

2. Everyone is welcome to fully embody the unique image God created them to be.

Run away from the first and run toward the second. Almost every church website has something in common—phrases like “come as you are” or “everyone is welcome” are featured prominently on the home page.

The problem is, for many churches, these phrases are not invitations for everyone to be included… they are a bait and switch.

I believe homophobia and transphobia are two of the greatest evils facing American Christianity today.

But here's the thing... NONE of it is rooted in Jesus or the Bible. It’s rooted in societal change.

In other words, anti-LGBTQ+ people are caving to culture.

Thread 🧵 When I started talking publicly about LGBTQ+ inclusion years ago, I'd mostly get confusion or questions:

- How can you believe this and still be a Christian?
- What do you do with the verses that condemn homosexuality in Scripture?
- What about church history?

Because speaking truth to power often results in financial and positional loss, many pastors preach sermons and make decisions to placate the powerful instead of standing up for the powerless.

This posture couldn't be more opposed to the way of Jesus.

🧵 Jesus advocated for the woman caught in adultery, ate with thieves and prostitutes, and broke religious laws to include outsiders. He elevated women, minorities, and the disabled.

Jesus partied with outcasts so often that he was accused of being a drunk and a glutton.

Understanding the best way to love and support transgender folks can be challenging, especially with all the hateful rhetoric going around.

So, here are SEVEN PRACTICES recommended to me by some dear trans friends and parents of trans youth to share with fellow cisgender folks… 1. Don’t post ill-informed hot takes about trans people online.

Read the stories of people in the community. Get your research from qualified experts and legitimate studies.

I highly recommend @TheTrevorPro and their bank of resources: thetrevorproject.org/research/