Pastoring isn’t easy, and its challenges have many pastors daydreaming about other jobs. So, I’m a huge advocate of appreciating the people who serve us, and if that requires specific time set aside (Pastor’s appreciation month—October) to ensure it happens, I can get behind it. One of the funny things I’ve noticed about pastor’s appreciation month is that churches who remember […]

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If you check out Facebook’s policy against hate speech, you will find a moratorium on any speech that directly attacks people based on: Race Ethnicity National origin Religious affiliation Sexual orientation Sex, gender, or gender identity Serious disabilities or diseases That’s a pretty broad list, but there’s one glaring category of abuse missing—age. In a […]

The post What We Lose When We Marginalize Our Seniors appeared first on Jayson D. Bradley.

As we always do, my wife and I sat down to watch the sixth season of Masterchef. (If you’re not familiar with the show, it is a fun cooking competition— and one of Gordon Ramsey’s 750 shows on Fox.) And among the season’s collection of chefs was a local Seattle girl in a hijab.  Amanda Saab’s love of […]

The post 5 Things I Wish Christians Understood about Muslims appeared first on Jayson D. Bradley.

Conflict is inevitable. Even if you’re the kind of person who goes out of their way to never say or do anything provocative or contrary, you’ll find yourself in a confrontation. Maturity comes in learning to navigate it, and more importantly, in learning not to avoid it. Jesus says it this way, “Woe to you, […]

The post Is the Church Pissing Off the Right People? appeared first on Jayson D. Bradley.

I made a comment about poverty and systemic evil on Twitter, and I was surprised at the response. People were coming out of the woodwork to tell me I was perpetuating a liberal trope. My favorite exchange went something like this: “‘Systemic evil’ isn’t mentioned in the Bible, so it doesn’t exist.” “So if the […]

The post Does Systemic Evil Exist and Does It Matter? appeared first on Jayson D. Bradley.

How would I describe my friendship with Courtney (a.k.a. Godless Mom)? Well . . . she’s a funny, whip-smart humanitarian who’s trying to protect the world from the dumb things I believe. I guess that should bother me, but it doesn’t. It’s not personal, and I’ve found her to be a warm, sincere, hilarious, and […]

The post 5 Things I Wish Christians Understood About Atheists appeared first on Jayson D. Bradley.

Q: To tithe or not to tithe? A: Neither & Both. Just Give. Give willingly, give worshipfully, give honestly, give gladly, give generously, and…