I feel like I’ve always been aware of the sociopolitical battle lines between differing thoughts on “abortion” or preemptive war, but the comprehensive, nearly wholesale division and split between people with competing ideologies nowadays is … heartbreaking and scary. In other words, it’s no longer just that I think you’re wrong about this or that; … Read More
The very first beer I ever had was, I believe, a Bud Dry. That’s probably not true for a lot of folks, but it’s part of my story and I like it as someone who tests as a 4 on the enneagram. At the time, beer pretty much only showed up at parties or in … Read More
I just got off the phone with a long-time friend who is now a coaching client. It’s the call I needed in order to finish this script. This beloved friend began the conversation with the nearly universal phrase: “I feel like I’m always in the middle.” And I get that. Even though I disagree a … Read More
I didn’t know a lot about the actual life of Jesus before I was in my mid-twenties. Honestly, even after I started calling myself a Christian (which is far more interesting conversation now than it was then). What actually led me to do the work of discovery and research wasn’t a sermon series; it was … Read More
If you’ve been around me for any significant time, you’ll likely know that my mother is a hero of mine. not in a cute “I love my mom, you guys” kind of way but more like “I hope I can be the kind of resilient and faithful and strong as that person” kind of way. … Read More
A few years ago, in conversation with artist Dylan Mortimer, we identified what we called “3rd rail” topics; things that, when talked about (or sometimes even approached) overcharged conversations to the point of explosion; topics that blew things up between individuals as well as whole people groups. Dylan, then in his early 30s and staring … Read More
Shaun Groves Intro It was 1997 in Palo Alto, CA. I remember sitting 7th row from the stage, listening to a man named Tony Campolo talk about loving people well. He talked about neighbors and kids. He told a story about Jesus I’d heard before touching and healing a leper. Then he started talking about … Read More
Albert Camus writes about ethics, “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” And while I think we’d be hard-pressed to find someone who denies the importance of ethics, the practice and application of ethics can get tricky when related to cultures and disciplines in which we’re not as knowledgable. Specifically, … Read More
One of the most persistent criticisms of religious progressivism is that it is reactive, pushing back on (and sometimes warring against) older, institutional practices deemed out of date, unhelpful, and even unjust. And while there is some good to such a posture, it doesn’t constitute a full enough profile of leadership. In his book “The … Read More
It’s one thing to say “we’re in this together.” It’s another thing entirely to practice “belonging” and pay the kind of price required to actually broaden one’s tent; to include people who would just as soon exclude or eliminate you from the socio-cultural mix altogether. For many years now, Ben McBride has been doing the … Read More
