Essays and Articles – Page 2

Tell Yourself a Story

One of my goals is to become a counselor. That said, therapy, mental health, and counseling ideas are something I think and read about a good deal. This week, I came up with an idea for a way of helping myself understand my own life, and I wonder if it might be helpful for someoneContinue reading “Tell Yourself a Story”

Gender Roles in Church: Some Reflections

My wife, Aleisha, and I live in Phoenix, AZ and have just started attending a church a few blocks from our house. We’re beginning the work of making friends, getting connected, finding a place. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on the tradition and church I was raised in. Many of my dearestContinue reading “Gender Roles in Church: Some Reflections”

To Be (Vaccinated) or Not To Be

Preface A few weeks ago I sat down with my friend to eat some Vietnamese food, and over my lemongrass dish I explained about a piece I’d starting writing – this piece about getting vaccinated. And my friend wasn’t convinced it was a good idea – you should at least put it behind a paywallContinue reading “To Be (Vaccinated) or Not To Be”

What’s the Weekend For?

This is a revised version my capstone paper for the communication studies program at TFC. The full paper can be found here. Workin’ Nine to Five The workweek is often viewed as a prerequisite to the weekend. This is to say the workweek is a necessary, but somewhat contemptible, element of surviving 21st century AmericanContinue reading “What’s the Weekend For?”

Three (Local Pastors Told Me Their Hopes for 2021)

There are two phrases that keep coming back to me. “It is what it is.” & “It’s not what it could be.” The new year is a new slate, symbolically anyways. The spike and then steep dive in gym memberships around this time of year tells us flipping the page on the calendar doesn’t intrinsicallyContinue reading “Three (Local Pastors Told Me Their Hopes for 2021)”

Three (Lies We Believed)

*A contributor who wishes to remain anonymous helped with this article. *There is a video version of this article at the bottom of the post. Three lies we have believed as Evangelicals. God have mercy. 1. We Believed Actions Were More Important Than Communication and Character. We believed you could untangle these three elements ofContinue reading “Three (Lies We Believed)”

Examining the Let Us Worship Movement

This piece was written for a class in which we were to examine a cultural phenomenon and identify possible narratives and identities being created. A New Kind of Revival: Red Stripes in the Let Us Worship Movement COM 363: Media and Society October 31, 2020 Toccoa Falls College ABSTRACT In the late 1960s the JesusContinue reading “Examining the Let Us Worship Movement”

What I Learned Writing About Homosexuality (Part 4)

Taking Responsibility This is not how I planned to wrap up this series of articles. I intended to write an introduction, four articles summarizing four different views, and then end with a concluding post outlining some of my own thoughts and beliefs on the subject of homosexuality and the church. This undertaking was far moreContinue reading “What I Learned Writing About Homosexuality (Part 4)”

Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church (Part 3)

Introduction In part 3, I’ll be looking at the chapter written by Megan K. DeFranza who offers the second affirming view in the four part book, Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church. She received a PhD in religious studies from Marquette University and is “an emerging leader in the theological study of sex, gender, andContinue reading “Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church (Part 3)”

Homosexuality, The Bible, and the Church (Part 2)

Introduction The second argument I will examine is from Dr. William Loader. Loader is “widely regarded as the foremost scholar on sexuality in ancient Judaism and Christianity.” He received his doctorate in theology from Mainz, Germany and has contributed five scholarly volumes to the academic literature surrounding sexuality in ancient culture. Overview Loader is oneContinue reading “Homosexuality, The Bible, and the Church (Part 2)”