Meeting the parents. It’s an awkward, uncomfortable rite of passage; the stuff romantic comedies are made of—though decidedly less funny when it’s happening to you. Bringing home a serious romantic interest for the holidays is stressful enough for heterosexual couples, but it’s the apex of anxiety for many LGBTQ couples, especially those with Christian families. We should know: We went through it ourselves. [Read More...]

Single Christians muddling through the dating scene probably have a checklist (mental if not actual) of the qualities they’re looking for in a partner. Whatever those preferences, church culture usually mandates singles to prioritize one characteristic above all others: The person’s faith. A non-Christian, they say, is a non-option. We beg to differ. [Read More...]

We’re not sure what to do with the fear we see in our friends’ eyes. As we wrote last week, we are concerned about the future of our country. We worry about a systemic corruption and breakdown of America’s political institutions under the new presidency. We worry about the rhetoric used by Donald Trump’s more violent supporters. But many of our friends are afraid at a much more visceral level—they’re having trouble sleeping, and they describe getting hit throughout the day by waves of anxiety. We’re trying to figure out the best way to sit with them, encourage them, and love them through an emotionally tumultuous season in our country’s history. [Read More...]

Soon after the presidential election, we made the decision to take a week off blogging. It’s not that we didn’t have anything to say—it’s that there was too much to say, and too many people trying to say it. Instead of fighting to be heard among the cacophony of voices, we took the opportunity to rest and reflect…and then prepare for the collapse of America as we know it. [Read More...]

The Feast of All Saints celebrates the faithful men and women, known and unknown, past and present, whose lives have been marked by the love and grace of God. It is an opportunity for us, as a church, to thank God for them and to remember the roles they have played in bringing God’s kingdom into our lives and into this world. We were the first same-sex couple married at our church, and we write a blog about faith that a few people read. So it is with gratitude that, today, we think of all the LGBTQ saints, known and unknown, who paved the way for us. [Read More...]

Many evangelical churches today—the kind that find comfort in a simplistic “love the sinner, hate the sin” philosophy—have been struggling with how to address LGBT members of their congregation. Rather than undertaking a comprehensive and earnest re-examination of scripture in conjunction with LGBT Christians and their allies, many church leaders instead turn to how they can tolerate LGBT members within the boundaries of their particular interpretation of the Bible. The result is a trite refrain often voiced in pulpits across the country: “All are welcome to worship.” [Read More...]

If you’re new to our blog you may not know that we’re still newlyweds. We’ve only been married five months. So what are some things we’ve learned about marriage in such a short period? Is love really patient, and truly kind? Yes… But the same can’t always be said of us. We fumble, we apologize, and we try again. But we’re learning. Here’s one lesson learned for each month we’ve been married. [Read More...]

The modern church has elevated marriage to a status it does not deserve, and in so doing it has sent the message that being single means, somehow, being deficient or incomplete. This view of married life as the be-all and end-all of the Christian journey is not only problematic, it goes against scripture. If we want churches that are truer to the Gospel—communities that better resemble the Kingdom—those of us who have chosen marriage must get off our high horses. [Read More...]

This year’s election season has increased comments we’ve heard from progressive Christian friends for years: People who have been wounded by the church, or who have otherwise become disenchanted with the religious right’s increasingly bigoted and nationalist undertones, have come to see the label “Christian” as toxic. They follow Jesus but can’t stomach the idea of being associated with some of the Christians we see in the media. [Read More...]

As a married gay couple, it’s virtually impossible for us to avoid being pigeonholed when it comes to politics. People from all points on the political spectrum have assumed we’re progressive liberals (living in Portland only exacerbates the stereotype). We’ve had multiple interactions in which friends, assuming we share their same beliefs, have confessed to us their most intimate left-wing desires. These conversations typically devolve into awkward laughs and half-hearted nods. [Read More...]

The university is one of society’s great incubators of ideas—unless you belong to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As reported this week by TIME, the evangelical collegiate organization will seek to dismiss staff members who disagree with its positions on human sexuality, in particular those who believe God can and does bless same-sex relationships. As Bible-believing Christians, with several friends who have served in InterVarsity, we see this as a divisive step that puts into question whether the organization deserves to serve on any secular college campus. [Read More...]

God, as we know, separated light from darkness; the waters under the dome, from those above. He bid the earth and the waters bring forth living creatures of “every kind”: creeping things, flying things, sea creatures, and cattle. And He fashioned humans in His image: Creatures who delight in categorizing. It seems we inherit from our Creator a penchant for labels. When we apply them to ourselves we call them identities; we use them to signal to others some of the things we believe to be true about ourselves. Applying them to others helps us navigate social interactions, but lacking God’s omniscience, we often get them wrong. [Read More...]