(Editor’s Note: This post is a response to an actual job listing for a pastoral position. I chose for the headline a nickname for the church (from a website they referenced and/or created) rather than the actual stated church name. I did this in the hopes that, should they abandon this particular branding experiment, my…

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<![CDATA[So for those who don't know, occasionally I do comedy. And I like it. And people, by and large, enjoy when I do it. So why don’t I do it more often?   I get this question a lot, and in fact, I ask myself this question a lot. Or at least I used to, when…

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<![CDATA[(This poem was written to me by my friend James, after he witnessed a particular exchange I had with my uncle at a church function. Without unpacking all of my personal history, I can say that I found it to be deeply moving and personal. If you know James personally, that shouldn’t come as much…

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<![CDATA[I’m tongue-tied and bIeary-eyed, but I made it through. I have emerged, healthy and generally in my right mind, from what has affectionately come to be known as “J.R.’s Hostage Weekend.” That term, admittedly melodramatic, is actually a pretty fitting description of what I’ve just endured (and for the second time, no less). The “J.R.”…

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