Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash How are you holding up in college? How’s your faith holding up? Honestly. College is an exciting, foundational season of life. It’s also a challenging one, especially for Jesus followers. I graduated in 2012, but I work today in college ministry and I still think about lessons I learned during my time as a…
A while back some friends and I got together for a movie night. After MUCH deliberation over what movie to watch (we’ve all been there, haven’t we?), we got so close to choosing a movie everyone agreed on…until one friend objected because it included some content that was disturbing to his conscience. I remember getting so internally frustrated with…
I think I know everything and I hate being told what to do. There’s a bit of that in all of us right? (Please say yes and make me feel a little better about myself, k?) :-) Jokes aside, the truth is there’s something in all of us that doesn’t like being told what to do and that thinks…
A few weeks ago Ariana Grande hosted One Love Manchester, a benefit concert for those affected by the terror attack at the Manchester show on her Dangerous Woman Tour. The concert was a beautiful display of love, resilience and hope in the face of fear as artists and Manchester residents came together for the event. (Watch the concert here) Justin…
*This blog has been revised from its original 2017 version, Does Legislating Morality Work? I submitted the same blog to RELEVANT magazine, which they graciously published online under a different title chosen by their editors–a title I don't agree with and doesn't fully reflect the heart of why I wrote the article. I no longer stand by that article and…
"You need a stronger prayer life." Those were the words I heard God impress on my heart in January 2007 when I asked Him if there was a particular area He wanted me to grow in that year. Little did I know that through responding to that simple phrase God would lead me down a path that would make prayer…
Sometimes I watch videos of people doing street surveys (because who doesn't love those, right?) Occasionally I come across a few asking about religion or spirituality. I’ve noticed that lots of people identify as Christian even though they reveal after further questioning that they don’t fully understand what Christianity is about or practice it. It’s more like a label to…
What does it mean to celebrate Easter? For some it might include a meal with family, candy, egg hunts, or attending church (or all of the above) depending on what you understand the season to mean. While I miss the days of waking up to an Easter basket filled with candy from my family…I mean from the Easter…
So I went to see The Shack. If you’re unfamiliar, The Shack is a movie starring Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer, adapted from the novel by William P. Young. The Shack tells the compelling story of Mack, a husband and father whose young daughter is abducted and killed in a shack during a family camping trip. Mack receives a…
“Our culture teaches us to never let them see you sweat and always put your best foot forward." Pastor Daniel Fusco of Crossroads Community Church made that statement in one of his recent two-minute message videos. It’s so true, isn’t it? It's ingrained in us to always put on a good face and appear as if we have it all…