WGA blog
Maintaining Hope in an Environment of Fear
Too much bad news... Lately, it seems that every time I turn on the TV or catch a snippet of news online or in a newspaper, I am bombarded with disappointing and scary information. The economy is failing. The stock market is breaking records, plunging downward. ...
Title or Towel?
“Lent is a season of preparation, but it should never be morose – an annual ordeal during which we begrudgingly forgo a handful of pleasures. After all, it is meant to be our springtime, when out of the darkness of winter’s deaths, a repentant, empowered people...
The Lord Is Real: That’s Enough.
Since I first became a follower of Christ, my experience with God has contained several mental and emotional mini-explosions--sudden bursts of light in dark places, taken down a peg when I was too big for my britches, or filled with inexplicable joy. These moments...
When Do I Apply God’s Truth? When Do I Apply God’s Grace?
Q & A at a Conference I recently shared at my Presbyterian denominations national gathering. Many breakout workshops were offered over the span of days at the conference and my presentation was called “Offering Truth & Grace: The Transgender Experience”. An...
Making Positive Choices When Facing Addiction
This month in our Thursday Night meetings, we are discussing the topic of addiction in our ReSOULutions series “Seeking True Connection: Addictions are False Solutions.” Common consequences of addiction are poor self-care and poor coping strategies. Neglecting these...
A Prayer Paradigm
Have you wanted to pray but haven’t known how? Have you ever wanted to cry to God with “groans too deep for words” (Rom 8:26)? Prayer can be a profoundly painful and emotionally complicated experience, wrought with relational and sometimes private matters. My wife...
The Most Urgent Question
These days the WGA staff are getting more opportunities to participate in conversations with pastors and leaders who are grappling with how to love people well, especially those who are lgbtq+, in the context of today’s culture. The question is a constant drum beat...
Should I Let My Child Read a “Banned” Book?
I recently discovered that my daughter will be reading a book about a transgender child in her 4th grade class. Yes, it is one that is often on the Banned Book lists. Of course, I have mixed feelings about this. Those mixed feelings aren’t because I don’t believe...
How We Respond to the Trans Movement Matters
Over the last few years, I’ve given the same workshop presentation at two of our national Presbyterian gatherings—“Understanding the Transgender Experience with Compassion and Truth”. The transgender experience and phenomenon are very complex and layered topics. Have...
Advent | Love
Do you hear it? Have you felt it? This time of year can churn within us and around us a holy imagination as well as a holy aggravation. Christmas songs for example, great.....until about the 15th one in a row! Take “Mary Did you Know”. Beautiful song, biblically...