JESSE IHDE

In the middle of the night, I woke with an urge to pull Stella close to me.  Josh is traveling for work and Stella covets his spot in our bed.  I didn’t want to disturb her perfect sleep so I just rolled towards her and watched her for a bit and then fell quickly back asleep.  Sometime later, she woke me as she moved her head onto my pillow and angled her long narrow body next to mine. After breakfast and backpacks, I herded the children to their respective days of learning – Stella with her man teacher and Eli …

Two days ago, encouraging the pressure which inevitably broke World Vision’s decision to hire men or women who are in legal same-sex marriages, I saw a pastor in my community tweet that “faithful followers of Jesus must speak out against ‘churches’ who in the name of love embrace that which Jesus doesn’t.” Fascinating. Which issues should we speak out against first? Legalism would be high on my list. As I’ve been reading more bloggers like Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner, I begin to believe I’m not as alone in the world as I once was. They have well articulated the strange …

I love Donald Miller. His books, particularly Blue Like Jazz, Growing up without a Dragon, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, and Searching for God Knows What, have moved me, taught me, challenged and changed me; he affirms the thinks I am thinking and feelings I am feeling about my relationship with Jesus and validates how complicated and messy it is to be a Christian in the present culture. Last week, Donald Miller published a blog and another follow-up piece about not connecting with a traditional church service. It hurt my heart to see how once again the tribe mentality …