Jesus follower, Anabaptist, Mennonite pastor. Exvangelical-ish. Nebraskan from ‘15-‘23, & now back in Canada! Fan of the Toronto Raptors & Blue Jays, ☕️, & 🍕.
“Stop affirming sin!”
Ok… *deep breath*:
Hoarding wealth is sin.
Rejecting the refuge is sin.
Racism & bigotry is sin.
Dehumanizing people is sin.
Nationalism is sin.
Misogyny is sin.
War is sin.
Bombing anyone is evil (& sin).
Pledging allegiance to a flag is sin.
Imane Khalif was made in God’s image—she is loved dearly by her Creator just as is she is.
If you feel angry or confused about her existence, then this is an opportunity to log off the internet & take it up with her Creator in prayer.
When a man is in a field taking care of sheep, we call him a shepherd.
So why would a woman in a field taking care of sheep be called a director of sheep ministries?
If women can’t preach your Gospel, the it’s a different Gospel than the one Jesus entrusted to Mary Magdalene.
“Go and tell them” - Jesus
And Mary did.
A Christian swearing is nowhere near as offensive as a Christian pledging allegiance to anything other than Jesus.
I don’t take issue with coarse language, but I do take issue with idolatry.
If you have a flag 🇺🇸 at the front of your church, & you want to know if it’s an idol to people…
…take it down this Sunday before worship & see how people respond.
Because the 🇺🇸 flag is a powerful idol of the 🇺🇸 Empire faith that uses a distorted Jesus as a mascot.
This is a perfect example of the fantasy of redemptive violence.
You will never be in this situation.
Children are actually dying via AR-15s & instead of banning them we make up these fake situations where we’re the hero.
You will never be a hero with a gun.
I’ve been a Christian long enough to remember when what’s now often called deconstruction was considered a vital part of basic Christian discipleship as we worked out our faith in fear & trembling…
Q: What do you call a man in a field looking after sheep?
A: Shepherd.
Q: What do you call a woman in a field looking after sheep?
A: Director of Sheep Ministry.
🤭
Apparently I’m some kind of
unbiblical,
unsaved,
heretical,
not-born-again,
false teacher
for daring to suggest that we should…
*checks notes* 🧐
Love like Jesus.
🤷♂️
At this point you can directly quote Jesus & be accused of preaching a false Gospel.
Christianity in 🇺🇸 is weird (& often entirely foreign from the way of Jesus).
Them: I’m a Biblical literalist 🧐📖
Me: oh, fun! I love Matthew 5:29-30! Which eye are you going to poke out?
Them:…
Me:…& do you have a preferred hand??
Them:…
Me:…what?
Them: 🤬 That’s not what I mean.
Me: 🤗 I think you’ll make a handsome pirate! 🏴☠️
Today we found the long-lost key to the church’s safety deposit box at the bank.
This hasn’t been opened in decades. No one alive remembers what’s in it.
What are your best guesses as to what we’ll find? Bonus points if they’re fantastical!!! 🪄 🦄 🛸 📖 🙏
🔥🚨 Hot take alert!!! 🚨🔥
Strong men are actually entirely unthreatened & unharmed by feminism, feminists, & any “challenges” to their masculinity.
Weak men demean women, desire to dominate them, & think that kickers are real football players.
Jesus: *You* are the light of the world.
Us: shiiiine on me! *clap clap, clap clap*
Jesus: well, sure, but that’s not…
Us: Shine, Jesus, shine!
Jesus: ok, that’s clearly not what I…
Us: fill this land with the Father’s glory!
Jesus: that’s quite literally *your* job 🤦
Love.
Joy.
Peace.
Patience.
Kindness.
Goodness.
Faithfulness.
Gentleness.
Self-control.
Which one of these holds a gun?
Jesus embodied them all—& He held no worldly sword.
The pledge of allegiance is trending.
A reminder to my Christian friends that this pledge is very much a religious commitment.
It is the creed of the American Empire Religion.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, I pledge allegiance to no other.
I am not afraid to say that, if the church in the US is dying, let it die.
Let it die to the old ways of hegemony.
Let it die to violence.
Let it die to control.
-Rachel Held Evans
All migrants are made in the image of God.
How we treat them & how we speak about them shows our true religious commitment.
Will we serve the hateful, divisive rhetoric of Satan, or will we follow the loving way of Jesus?
From my experience as a pastor: often when people are reconsidering whether or not they’re still Christian, it’s usually because of a variety of things:
-difficult experiences
-church hypocrisy
-no room for questions/doubts
-nationalism
-sexism
-racism
-politics
-abuse
It seems like Christians on Xwitter often don’t know what Jesus is really like.
So here are some books that I recommend reading, as I have found them all extremely helpful in shaping my faith:
The Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of John
I do not follow the Bible.
I’m not a Bible-ian.
I follow Jesus Christ.
I am a Christian.
& we are only as Christian as we follow His commands & example.
How we love (or do not love) will tell the truth about who we’re really following & what we really believe.
If you need the Billy Graham Rule to keep yourself “out of trouble,” you’re not pastor/Christian-leadership/basic-human-society material.
It’s as simple as that.
I really thought it would be the flag part that tripped people up.
But apparently it’s the racism & nationalism part.
Huh. 🤷♂️
So many church pews remain an underserved mission field for the Gospel of Jesus.
Muting the thread, but my DMs are always open for prayer requests.
Introducing Oscar William Peth Amor, who was born late this morning.
19.5”
7 lb 14.2 oz
Both baby and mother are doing well!
Thank you so very much for your prayers!
Perhaps the saddest lesson we continue to be faced with from Good Friday is this:
The crowds will continue to choose Barabbas over Jesus.
We continue to choose the lie of redemptive violence over Jesus’ way of love, peacemaking, & justice.
Christianity doesn't look like power,
it doesn't look like wealth,
it doesn't look like hate,
it doesn't look like violence,
& it often doesn't look like victory.
But it does look like Jesus.