If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.


Philippians 2:1-4


If there has been a set of verses that has been the theme of my ministry of leading people it may be these. I’m only 43 years old but I cannot remember a time when people in our society were so partisan, divided and bitter toward one another. Worse is that I can’t remember a time when the church (at least in America) so closely resembled the world at these points. 


We’ve become so accustomed to the zero-sum, cable news model of dialogue that we actually believe we are doing the Lord’s work by being loud, selfish, unyielding, unloving, passive-aggressive, petty, small, carnal and mean. It’s no wonder that I have heard it said that Fox News and MSNBC have done a better job of making disciples than many of our churches. 


We actually think we represent God well by fighting to have our way. I thank God for all of our “rights” but we act like Philippians 2:5-11 isn’t in the Bible. We are often better Americans than we are Christians. We want our way so much that we can’t even begin to hear what God might actually ask of us…


The longer I am in ministry, the more convinced that there are essentially two types of people and leaders in our church context at least here in the States and in particular the Bible Belt:

1. There are the people that want to follow God wherever he is leading. They’re not married to the latest fads or the precious memories. They bask in the glow of Philippians 3:13-15. They are sensitive to the leading of the Spirit of the Living God as it pertains to interacting with the lost world around them AND their heritage. These people are open to walking with God wherever He is walking. 
2. These are the people that want God to follow them and continue to bless what they’ve always done in spite of obvious decline. They also are people who want God to bless what they’ve already decided they’re going to do because they saw it work for someone else. They long for a world that resembles the 1950’s or they long to look just like the contemporary world. They think that God’s blessing is found in returning to their glory days or becoming indistinguishable from secular contemporary culture. 

This bifurcation has been ruminating in my spirit for several years. The embers were fanned into a fire when I caught a few moments of a sermon by Dr. Tony Evans on the radio a few nights ago. He was talking about faith and going between Hebrews 11:5-6 and Genesis 5:21-24. In the passage in Genesis, we see that Enoch “walked with God.” We see that very phrase twice in these four verses. Dr. Evans made the point that God is always walking and doing his thing and He invites us to walk with Him. However, we often get frustrated because rather than walking with Him, we are determined to make Him walk with us. I didn't hear the whole sermon so I hope I'm doing it justice. 


Because our need to make God walk with us, we get frustrated when God won’t “give me that old time religion” or when we can’t be Passion or Elevation in worship style in our local churches. We have no idea or no framework to try to understand what God might actually want us to do because we’re determined to have Him walk with us rather than getting on our knees and faces before God to find out where He is walking so we can walk with Him. 


Beloved, we must get up off of our blessed assurance and realize that we’re never going to see a victory if we can’t find and follow the sweet, sweet Spirit that is supposed to bind us together. We’ll find a real blessing when we realize that the ties that bind us are indeed blest. Be like Jesus. He put up with you and me. You can put up with your brothers and sisters… and their music… and sometimes even their politics… Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.

Though I shouldn’t be, I am often amazed at how quickly preferences and legalism hijack the message and thrust of the Gospel in our churches. I have been a musician and worship leader in some capacity for more than two decades now. It may be that the worship wars are waning but the remaining and stubborn skirmishes of the aftermath are still every bit as frustrating. Most of us involved in church ministry during the Covid quarantines and adjustments are increasingly aware that the stakes are higher than ever for churches seeking to champion the Gospel, edify the saints and win souls. Recently I read the last chapter of Galatians with new eyes and it really galvanized my resolve for the future. 


Verse 12 of the last chapter was particularly arresting:


“Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised— but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.” Galatians 6:12 CSB (Emphasis mine)


Paul is here speaking of the Judaizing elements in the church who were insisting on having new converts to Christ keep various elements of Jewish ritual and tradition as a condition of their salvation. He goes on in verse 13 to tell the Galatians that the Judaizers don’t even keep the law themselves but they want the Galatian believers to be circumcised that they might brag on the high circumcision rates of the Galatian church. (Seemingly a strange thing to boast about indeed!)


The judaizing elements in the church were elevating an outward rite to the level of importance of the Gospel. Paul strikes a stark contrast in verse 14:


“But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14 CSB


Paul is making it very clear here that the death and resurrection of Christ, the Gospel was the only thing he would boast in. 


Prior to Covid 19, I wonder how many carnal or temporal things our local churches boasted in. Perhaps your church has an amazing traditional music ministry or a state of the art modern one. Perhaps you’ve met in the same Sunday school class for decades with the same people or you’ve recently joined a community or neighborhood small group that is quickly growing. Maybe your church is trying to figure out the best strategy for corporate gatherings going forward that look or sound a little different than you are accustomed to. May it never be that we settle for surface features as a bragging point. The world is hurting. The world doesn’t need First Baptist Church of 1985 or the coolest church in town. The world needs the Gospel. 


Beloved, in this polarized and fractured world we need to be a church that is radically and visibly devoted to the Gospel and Gospel-centered unity above all else. Paul says in verse 15, “For both circumcision and and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.” This new creation shouldn’t be married to methods or outward appearances but rather the indwelling, unifying presence of our Savior. I recently heard it said that mature believers are easily edified and immature believers are hard to please and easy to offend. It is time— perhaps beyond time for us to lift our standard.


Paul speaks a blessing over people who use the Gospel as the standard in verse 16 when he says, “May peace come to all who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God.” We often spend lots of time and energy satisfying and pacifying immature and selfish believers when we should be ever sacrificing for unbelievers and working toward edifying the saints in the Gospel to disciple them to be sacrificing for the edification of those who will come behind them. I don’t know exactly what the coming months and years are going to look like for our churches but I know Jesus is still king. May our days and efforts be marked by overt Gospel-centeredness. May we live by a Gospel standard.

​I recently had an experience that reminded me of the grace of my God and the beauty of the Gospel. I share this with permission and in an effort to let it be known that it is ok not to be ok. It’s no secret that my first born daughter is recovering from an eating disorder. Last week my wife and I had the privilege of attending a support group with fellow parents who are in the same position as us. 
 
I was struck by the power and beauty of the experience. Here we were, a group of broken people searching for healing, comfort, truth, and redemption in the shared experiences of each other. Nobody was making excuses for where we were. Nobody desired to stay where we were. Everyone wanted answers and healing. There was no pressure to enter that space to perform for anyone. It was ok not to be ok.
 
In addition to this, while April and I were attending our session with parents, my daughter was attending her regular meeting with a cohort of peers who are also recovering from eating disorders. It is of note that this group gives her a community that would be very difficult to find elsewhere. She is in fellowship with patients looking for healing. It is ok not to be ok. 
 
It wasn’t lost on me that this experience was more open, more grace filled and more authentic than many church interactions I’ve experienced. Again, neither of the groups mentioned above exist to simply celebrate or excuse brokenness. Rather, they are groups formed with the purpose of bringing about healing for their participants. How much more should we be able to find this security and subsequent healing in our Gospel centered communities—our churches?
 
James 5:16 says, “ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” May it be that we as believers are always ready to share the hope, love and redemption that we’ve found in Christ. May our brothers and sisters ever feel comfortable sharing their needs with us. In ministry and in worship, make sure the people see your sufficiency in your Savior far more than your pride in your person. Make sure it’s ok not to be ok in your Christian communities. 

I love Chick-Fil-a. I love everything about it. I love everything on their menu except for that weird cookie. Is it a chocolate chip cookie or an oatmeal cookie? If it would just decide what it wanted to be it would be the greatest cookie ever I'm sure. That not withstanding, It gives me great pride to be a long standing CFA Red Member. I brag on CFA. It is my go-to place when I'm not sure what I want to eat because I know I will always be happy. That being said, this mac and cheese idea really puts my allegiance to all things CFA to the test. I just feel like I need to tell you about my experience with it today.

I don't think I've ever been more worried to taste something but because of my allegiance to CFA I had to make it over there today when I heard the mac and cheese was launching nationwide. I have to say that I like it. I wanted to love it but I only like it. If you don't know, macaroni and cheese is serious business for Black people and families. If your mac and cheese game isn't strong, you take a terrible risk by offering it to Black people. If you know me, you won't read any racist intent into my words here. This reaction to mac and cheese is just a natural phenomena in the Black community. 

When I got to CFA there were three registers open. Two of the registers were worked by White women and the third was operated by a younger Black woman. As Providence would have it, I got to go to the register with the young Black woman so I asked her about the mac and cheese before ordering. She leaned in real close to me and said that though she hadn't tried it yet, "all of the White people she's served today loved it and that it was indeed baked (As mac and cheese always should be) so she was cautiously optimistic."

You see, I love CFA and I love mac and cheese so I desperately wanted them to get this right. This is why I've entitled this post the way I have. I just don't know how to feel. On a scale of 1-10 I think it's a high 6 or maybe a low 7 IF you get a bite with some of the cheesy crust from the top of the pan. My bowl had a decent amount of this crust so I enjoyed eating it. However, once the crust is gone, it drops down to a very pedestrian 2 or 3. 

I will try it again. I think it definitely gets the job done but I wouldn't dare serve it to my family for Thanksgiving. Have you had it yet? What sayest thou?

The Dreaded Brisket Stall​
If there is something more enjoyable to eat than a perfectly cooked BBQ beef brisket, I don’t know what it is. Brisket is the quintessential exemplification of the term “good things come to those who wait.” Cooking them is not for the faint at heart as errors can have you eating something that has all the tenderness  and juiciness of a baseball glove. 
 
Anyone who knows anything about cooking brisket and other large meats knows something about the dreaded brisket stall. Click the link for more information on this phenomenon but suffice it to say that a perfect brisket needs to slowly get to an internal temperature of just over 200°. Due to science, the temperature of brisket seems to stall at around 160° as evaporation of moisture from the meat cools it much the same way as sweating cools you when you are hot. This goes on until enough moisture has evaporated to allow the temperature to continue to rise to smoky, juicy perfection. 
 
I’m afraid that far too many Christians succumb to a Christian-growth stall at some point of their lives. They may be in the figurative smoker of living the faith to the level to which they have grown but they have stalled out because nothing has happened to cause them to press further into the Gospel and Jesus. Paul writes this admonition to the church in Philippi:

The Texas Crutch
If we’re not careful, we stop looking for the ways that Christ would choose to grow us. This can happen due to fear, complacency, satisfaction, laziness or any number of factors. The Apostle Paul was likely far more mature than any of us yet he seemed dissatisfied with settling for where he was. He determined to forget whatever was behind him and pursue God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Paul was determined not to enter into a stall. 
 
We need to do the same as believers. We can be tempted to look at what we may have attained or where we may have come from and become satisfied. We might look at someone else who is farther down the road of faith and determine that their life and level of devotion isn’t for us. It is important that we forget about our past victories and failures when it comes to pressing forward into the lives that God has called us to. We are also admonished to imitate others who set a good example in verse 17. 
 
Get this: the word of God seems to indicate in verse 15 above that the mature believer shouldn’t settle for a stall and even if you are in a stall, God won’t let you stay there without warning. The savvy BBQ pit master knows that there is a technique that they can use to power them through the stall called the Texas crutch. The Texas crutch is a technique whereby you wrap the brisket in foil once it reaches around 150°. This keeps moisture from evaporating and cooling the meat so the temperature can continue to rise shaving hours off the cooking time. 
 
The Christian life is a life of growth. We’ve never arrived until we are glorified by our sweet Savior. I’m not suggesting that the Christian wrap themselves in foil. I am however suggesting that every Christian make every effort to wrap themselves in prayer, worship, scripture, and accountability to be sure that they haven’t stalled in their growth. Our sanctification is a slow process that will conclude in Christ’s perfection. Never stop pursuing!

Getting to Know Rocky Top
It happened at the final regular season basketball game for the University of Tennessee basketball team in 2018. I started to fall in love with the Volunteer Nation. The Vols needed to win this game to win the regular season SEC Championship. It was an intense game throughout and the crowd was completely engaged. I’m pretty sure I heard the Volunteer fight song Rocky Top at least two dozen times and somehow I never got tired of it (Go ahead and make your jokes now Vol haters and then read the rest of the post).


We had better seats than I was accustomed to as the seats were a gift from friends. I was only about fifteen rows from the court. The people around me were fully committed to cheating their team to victory. Every time something great happened the band would fire up Rocky Top. By the time we got to about halftime, I knew enough of the words to Rocky Top to at least sing the part where we go “WHOO” with a lot of intensity. It was kinda cool to slap high-fives with people all around me when Admiral Schofield had an emphatic dunk late in the game to put it out of reach for the Georgia Bulldogs. Most of these guys were clearly way more wealthy than me but they loved their Vols and their love was infectious.


Unless you’re a Vol hater, it’s undeniable that the energy and affection with which the nation supports their team becomes infectious when you’re immersed in the environment. This night also got me to thinking about how this environment might inform the corporate worship environments that I work in.


Leading Worship in Rocky Top Land
Not long after this, I actually got the opportunity to lead worship in Knoxville, Tennessee. Many of the people who I lead in worship weekly are Volunteer fans. Now, don’t @ me, but because of this, I’m quickly becoming a fan of the Volunteers. I love the energy of Vol supporters but I can’t help but notice how the most reserved of Tennessee fans can sing Rocky Top with full facial expression and maximum intensity almost on demand. It’s difficult for me but I try not to make this an apples-to-apples comparison in how my people express themselves in corporate worship. Instead, I’ve been pondering why people seem to be so much more comfortable expressing themselves with passion and intensity at a ballgame than they are in corporate worship of our King.


I have begun to realize that people don’t come to a football or a basketball game solely for the purpose of taking in a professional athletic performance or even a musical one. They come to support and love their team. They come to let the world know that their team is better than the other team and they aren’t really shy about how they express this. While a great performance by their team, band and cheerleaders may enhance this, they aren’t the driving force that keeps the people coming. Nor are they the final product that the team is hoping for at Thompson- Boling Arena when they ask the crowd to feed the floor.


The coaches and team are asking for that infectious passion, energy and intensity that pushes the team to keep going. They want those waves of energy that wash over the crowd and reproduce themselves in ever increasing sound and passion.


What Does This Have to do With Corporate Worship?
I’m sure that the University of Tennessee has one of the better marching bands and some of the better cheerleaders in the country. I’m also sure that if both of those groups weren’t very good, people would still show up to support the Vols. Perhaps not quite as many would come but the ones who truly love their team aren’t swayed by what they do or don’t do on the field. Here’s a fact, when we worship, we worship a King who only wins (Hold your Tennessee jokes)


I don’t know if the UT band or cheerleaders are demonstrably better than any of their SEC counterparts. They didn’t sweep me into the Vol nation. It was the passion displayed by so many people who I have come to love that has done this to me. They have convinced me that their team is something special and worth cheering for. I believe that the same thing can happen when we worship. People are made to believe that the King of kings is something worth getting excited about when the people they are with allow themselves to get passionately excited. How do we help people get to a place where they can be passionately excited about corporate worship?


I always tell my worship teams that they are worship leaders. This is true of choir members, band members, praise team members and orchestra members. They have a job to do every time they’re on that stand. Their job is to do the very best they can to help the congregation to worship. People often are unclear on how to do this. Does this mean that every note must be sung perfectly? Does this mean that the image on the stage is flawless? While perfect performance is desirable, it should be obvious that it simply cannot be the end goal. Many churches don’t even have the tools or talent to pull off the perfect performance so this cannot be the end game pragmatically or biblically speaking.


I would go so far as to say that an over-emphasis on perfect performance may actually hinder corporate worship. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul is admonishing the Corinthian church on their use of speaking in tongues in church.

“You’re too concerned with Black stuff. You know, there’s a whole church of people here and we can’t just be concerned with Black issues.” 


“Why does that even matter? As long as we’re singing about Jesus, it shouldn’t matter.” 


“I feel like only White churches are being asked to change.” 


“You’re a sellout.” 


“You only care about winning the respect of White people.”


“You’ll get your wake-up call eventually. Those White folks will let you know what they really think about you.” 


“Why aren’t you in a Black church? 


The statements above are among the things I’ve heard in my time among Christians in Black churches. I’ve been called a self-hater and a sellout by people who look like me when I have voiced convictions that are perhaps different than that of most Black folks. I never was called a heretic because of this but only a sellout because I stood not against the Bible, but against something in the Black status quo as it were.


The statements above are among the things I’ve heard in my time among Christians in White churches. It didn’t matter how many hospital visits I did or meaningful ministry efforts we accomplished together. It mattered not how faithfully and lovingly I cared for the church. When I dare to raise questions about race issues, things often seem to come to a full stop. I never was called a heretic because of this but only a cultural marxist or social justice warrior because I stood not against the Bible, but against something in the conservative White evangelical status-quo as it were.


I’m grateful for my time among the many cultures of the body of Christ that I’ve experienced. I know that I’m a better Christian for having loved and experienced life with people who have had life experiences different from my own. Seeing other perspectives has helped me be ok with realizing how biased and limited my own perspective can be. This is a limitation that we all share. We believers should know this.


We are a people bound by a common faith and a biblical heritage, a heritage that should trump every other allegiance. Our biblical heritage should guide us to truth and truth doesn’t change based on the perspective or history of the individual. I have a perspective and you may have a perspective but God’s perspective is the one that matters and is of eternal consequence. 


Real Talk
I’m not speaking to the partisan and polarized among us. This isn’t for the ones looking to win a debate or exact revenge on their enemies. If you just want to shut the mouth of the person in your small group class who disagrees with you then you probably should stop reading here. This is for those of us who actually long to see reconciliation and healing between cultures and ethnicities in the body of Christ. This is for those who would like to communicate better cross-culturally but perhaps haven’t taken the time to listen to an opposing viewpoint or give the issue much thought. This is some of what I have observed in my time of doing theology in Black and White. I will do my best to give these voice without my own editorialization. 


What (Some) Well-Meaning White Evangelicals Think
Right or wrong, White people are tired of being called racists. They are exhausted of having to go so far just to be seen as being at a place that they are at least ambivalent about race. Many of the Whites that I know who are actually and genuinely very sympathetic to race issues are fatigued with having to figure out what they can say and what they cannot say around other ethnicities. It is as if they are racist until proven otherwise.


Right or wrong, Whites are largely confused or offended about terms like ‘White privilege.’ They may even understand the concept but they know deep down that every failing of minorities and every triumph by Whites can’t be explained solely by this phenomenon. They feel that their struggles and impediments to success are overlooked and ignored while others often seem to be given a pass or an excuse for their dysfunction. 


It often seems that being a White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) means that anyone and everyone can say and do anything to you and nobody will come to your defense—especially if you’re a WASP male. While some Whites don’t realize it, many do realize that they have a culture and they feel this culture is under assault from all sides as retribution for the sins of yesteryear. 


This list isn’t exhaustive nor do I make any claims that this thinking is right or wrong. It just is what it is. 


What (Some) Well-Meaning Black Evangelicals Think
Black Evangelicals are tired of being gaslighted by being made to believe that racial issues are a figment of their imaginations and a thing of the past. They are exhausted of having to qualify every complaint of racial insensitivity with conclusive physical evidence. Many Blacks who do try to survive and thrive in White evangelical spaces are tired of the charge of being cultural Marxists and social justice warriors when they voice legitimate concerns with certain policies, procedures or established norms and standards.


Right or wrong, Blacks are generally pretty clear on the fact that White privilege exists. That is, there is a dominant culture in America and whatever it is, it isn’t Black. They may debate as to what the manifestations of this privilege is but they know that there is something to this phenomenon. They know that whatever Blackness is, they can’t exercise it freely in White conservative evangelical spaces. A world of new mores, philosophies, songs, strategies and style awaits Black people who leave the safety of the culture of the Black church and Black spaces.


Being Black in the confines of dominant culture means you must take steps to prove that you’re not a threat or an enemy to the dominant culture before you can even be heard. This is why Blacks almost by default often employ code-switching as a means of survival and best practice when working and living in dominant culture. 
This list isn’t exhaustive nor do I make any claims that this thinking is right or wrong. It just is what it is. 

So How Do Evangelicals Reconcile?
These answers won’t be satisfying for many but I’m confident that this truth is our only hope: We will never get true reconciliation by trying to put someone else on the cross. We’re going to have to get on that cross ourselves. We’re going to have to put our cultural and socio-political tribes on the cross too. When we do, the other side may still spitefully use and abuse you but you will have righteousness on your side. Furthermore, this act of Biblical courage may inspire your brothers in Christ to pick up their cross and follow you as you follow the example of Christ. This is the Gospel. We don’t deserve Christ’s patience and love but he gives it anyway. Your sociopolitical opponents may not deserve your patience and love but you should give it anyway.


We can’t do our theology from ivory towers of superiority or ebony bunkers of self defense. We’re going to have to leave our comfortable structures of confirmation bias and safety and make ourselves vulnerable to people who see things from a different perspective than us. We have a biblical mandate to live this way. We evangelicals need to care about being together more than we care about being right. 


One thing I’ve noticed in the dust-ups between evangelicals on race issues is that we don’t care to follow the truth wherever it leads. We tend to cherry-pick scripture and highlight the areas that are most important to us and our sociopolitical and cultural tribes. After this, we take on the same attributes of the world and our polarized American culture. We feel that if somebody else wins something then it means that we must lose something. We act as if the other side isn’t worth redeeming. 


The Gospel teaches us that Christ gave all so we can have all. He didn’t do it because we deserved it. He did it because we are His beloved. He has called us to be the church. When we stand before Him one day, He won’t be slapping high fives with the White Republicans. He won’t be giving the Black Democrats dap. He’ll be looking for His bride and He will be more than enough for any of us. He’s more than enough now. Our allegiance and fidelity to Him are what matter. We must lay down our tribal needs to be right and in doing so, inspire our brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same. 

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I got something to say...
Sho Baraka has a great song on his 2016 album The Narrative called Kanye, 2009. I’m not really a connoisseur of hip-hop but I really dig this song. It features the great Jackie Hill Perry and some cool sax riffs. Sho repeatedly reminds us in the hook that, “he got something to say.” He makes a lot of cogent and poignant points that I enjoy and may write about later but it’s the hook of this song that has been resonating in my soul for some time and I got something to say.


Along with many in our society, I am evaluating and re-evaluating the role that I want social media to play in my life and that of my family. One of the most challenging critiques of social media for me that I’ve heard is that our repeated tweeting and posting cheapens the things that we have to say. I think this is true. Our words have become so cheap that we often don’t even stop to read these tweets and posts if they don't grab us in the first twelve characters. We certainly don’t take the time to read or write carefully much less to understand deeply. I got something to say.


During my social media heyday, I loved debating politics, faith and economics on Twitter and Facebook. I would post provocative things and enjoy threads hundreds of comments long. I even once got retweeted by conservative firebrand Ann Coulter during my radical right-wing-overcorrection phase and instantly got more than 500 new followers on a Twitter handle I had back then. I’m pretty sure I contributed pretty heavily to the polarization and attention deficit that we see now in our public discourse. (You probably did and do too so don’t judge me) Over time I noticed that nobody is changing anybody’s mind in 140 or 280 characters. Yet, I still feel like I got something to say. 


I think that there is a reason that this song is resonating with me during a time when I’ve been feeling convicted to say and consume less on social media. I got something to say and I feel like God has a way He wants me to say it. He wants me to speak carefully, thoughtfully, lovingly and in a way that represents the Gospel and glorifies Him. He also knows that I highly value intelligent and civil discussion and even debate. Social media isn’t really the place for that to happen. I got something to say and if you care to hear it, I want you to come on over to my place and take your time and listen and respond carefully because I got something to say.


The world seems to be spinning out of control. We have political, racial, economic and philosophical angst among Americans. My fellow evangelicals are following the world down the same divergent and acrimonious rabbit holes as we debate race and politics among ourselves. I happen to believe that there is a better way and I got something to say about finding God’s heart concerning some of these issues and giving a Bible centric, Gospel centric, truth centric view that isn’t beholden to tribe. 
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Blogging has always been in the periphery of my possibilities. Now is the time to let it all out and go. I’ve learned a lot in the last several years. I’ve grown a lot and experienced much change and evolution of thought. I’m looking forward to examining faith, society and culture with you if you’re interested in my thoughts. I definitely got something to say and maybe we’ll have some fun along the way!