Blog

I first took the title of "pastor" on July 1st, 2015, and it felt really, really awkward. I was new to Michigan and I wanted to get to people. At the same time, I knew that as soon as people asked the question, "What do you do?" and I answered, "I'm a pastor" that would be the end of the conversation for some people. For a season, I would tell people that I was a "faith and community director." Then I learned that wasn't going to work and just had to rip off the band aid. "I'

Worship is my spiritual coffee. While everything that we do throughout the week matters, and there are certainly other ministries and events that get me fired up, worship is a unique experience As a pastor, I have the opportunity to orchestrate an event that not only helps people grow in faith, but can help people looking for purpose find renewal, the hopeless be lifted from despair, and the lonely find community. That type of opportunity gets me going in the morning. But how

One of the greatest hurdles I have as a pastor is how traditional church concepts have been used in harmful ways toward individuals. Instead of being used as tools of liberation and to build individual and communal faith, certain terms have been used for shame and to keep power dynamics in place. One of those terms is repentance. I believe there may not be a more important Christian concept in our society than repentance right now. Unfortunately, sometimes repentance is used