He is risen! He is risen, indeed. Happy Easter to you all.

Spring in North America is a time for planting seeds and seeing new shoots emerge from the ground. I don’t have my own garden or much of a green thumb, but I am very proud that I’ve managed to keep my fiddle-leaf fig tree alive (so far).

Lately, Jesus’ parable about planting seeds has been on my mind:

With all that in mind, I don't fault a church that asks me to get coffee when I seek clarity on their beliefs. In fact, I understand and assume that the pastor is meaning to offer me more effort and kindness, believing I deserve better than an email.

But it seems like sometimes my pastor friends feel torn between offering me clarity or kindness as if the two are mutually exclusive. But as the modern sage Brene Brown says, "Clarity is kind."

If you aren't already familiar with Henry Ossawa Tanner, I highly encourage you to meet him. He was one of the most highly-regarded African-American painters of the nineteenth century–without question a challenging time for a Black artist. Tanner is best known for his paintings of African-American life as well as his striking renditions of biblical scenes. In his generation, his perspective as a Black Christian artist was utterly unique.

As a surprise to pretty much nobody, I’m a bit of a loud person. Not just in my speaking volume, though I’ve been “shushed” in my share of environments, but in the amount of noise I create around me. My roommate often nudges me to put my earbuds on as I start chopping carrots for my dinner because my phone is blaring whatever silly little reality show I have on in the background.

But all these well-meaning "welcomes" leave me clueless as I try to find a church to belong to. I'm not looking for a church where I am merely welcome—I'm looking for a church where I'll be loved, edified, and discipled. I'm looking for a church that will see me as part of the body of Christ, with gifts to offer and holiness to pursue.

Our February masterpiece is Jesus Christ Pantocrator, a Byzantine mosaic from the 12th-13th centuries located at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The word “Pantocrator” means “ruler of all,” and Pantocrator images were some of the most common depictions of Christ in the ancient Byzantine church. 

A core part of my theology is that God is good. Good in big ways, not some abstract concept. Good like ice cream on a hot day, hot chocolate after a winter storm, or a hug from a far-away friend. Belief in God being so richly good was a real confusing challenge to my feelings about celibacy... Why would a good God call me to something so... frankly, so bad.

One reason that many Christians see celibacy as being unfair and even unattainable in the long term is our incorrect assumption that love and intimacy are most deeply found in sexual relationships. In reality, while the marriage covenant and sexual bond are indeed deep places of love and intimacy, they are by no means the only (or even best) ways for humans to find and flourish in intimate relationships.