rebelling against low expectations
My heart breaks every time I see another story. The ones where pastors are let go because of integrity issues and moral failures. The ones where leaders are fired for not leading and acting in the way the Bible commands them to. Adultery. Greed. Sexual immorality. It feels like the stories will never end, and in my heart, I feel hopelessness and grief settling in. What about you? Through each of...
“I can’t, but thanks for the invite.” The sentence echoes on my lips, spoken to more people than I remember. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to say no. I thrive on adventure and exploration. I’m a social butterfly. And yet, I’ve said so many no’s I never wanted to. I wasn’t always this way. But when I first got sick as a young teen, I watched as “out of sight, out of mind” became a...
Last fall, the Lord began tugging on my heart that He wanted me to begin to disciple middle school girls with Him. Lord, I thought, why would you want me, of all people, to disciple middle school girls? I can clearly remember going to youth group at my church one Wednesday night, totally unprepared for what I was about to hear. When our Pastor was speaking, I remember him saying, “By the way, I...
Those of us who have the privilege of growing up in Christian families have likely always gone to church. It’s just what we’ve always done. But when we move out, go to college, and get a little more freedom, we may start to wonder… “Wait, why do I actually have to go to church? I know Jesus, and I have a relationship with Him, is that not enough?” We Need to Know Why Whether you are growing up in...
Last year, I decided I wanted to do a hard thing in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. I’m very passionate about fighting against abortion and helping young women and their babies. I consider it my holy ambition. So, I researched how I could help. Ultimately, I settled on holding a bake sale that would donate any profit to my local pregnancy resource center and the pro-life organization...
“The Bible was written 800 years after Jesus lived, and by no one who knew him!” the comment declared. I squinted at it, mentally typing out a cheerily sarcastic response: “Well, if we drop a zero off that number, and totally ignore the fact that Matthew was an apostle, you’d be almost right!” Troll comments are easy to find–people who confidently throw out accusations against the Bible, the...
A couple of weeks ago something strange happened. I was sitting in church, listening to the sermon, struggling to pay attention to what was being said. All I could think of was that I was anxious. Anxious about what my immediate and distant future would bring, and how little control I had over my own life. I had felt anxious before, of course. But this time I was caught by surprise by my reaction...
Once upon a time, an awkward, homeschooled sixth grader walked into a room that would change her life. That room was the Brightmoor Youth Center. That sixth grader was me. My youth group has changed me as a person. I say this not as an exaggerated, cliched statement. I say this as an unadulterated truth—I am a different person now than I was four years ago because of my youth group. When eleven...
I’ve been through more church hurt than I would wish on anyone. To put it plainly, church hurt hurts. There’s no way around it. And while many areas of life can break us, church is perhaps the place we least expect or wish it to happen. What I Wish Church to Be (and Why It’s Not Like That) In an ideal world, church is a community of perfect people who love and support each other no matter what...
Part of being a Christian means experiencing a tension, a pull between the immediate realities of daily living and the ultimate reality of eternity. Being in the world, but not of it. Redeemed, yet still facing temptation, still witnessing evil, still mourning for the lost, still reading tragic headlines, still watching friends get hurt, and still struggling in our own sin. Secure and content yet...
rebelling against low expectations
