Upfront

Position Mixtapes

How do we know what we know? How do we determine our position, or what we believe, on various issues? We all combine different sources of knowledge in different ways, resulting in a highly personalized position mixtape. The four sources of knowledge are Scripture, personal experience, reason, and tradition. How

Gentle and Right

“Why do you want to do this now?” my business partner asked. “it’s not the right time.” I sulked for a moment, then retaliated. “I’ve been doing most of the work all on my own for the past month. What does it matter to you when we decide to do

What I Said and How I Said It

“Pastor, I don’t know what to think. A loving God can’t possibly think this about me, can He?” The voice on the recording belonged to a young woman who described herself as bisexual (attracted to men and women). She had been building trust with our community over the last few

What I Wish I’d Known About Anxiety

For years, and I’m ashamed of this, I was the guy in the room thinking, “Oh man, not another emotional staff mess to deal with.” I was 38 years old and just as stressed out and tired as anyone else (that seemed to be a pre-req for EDGE Corps at

Naming Our Fears, Reclaiming Our Hope

When I was a young father, my wife Cathy, and I moved from our settled hometown to our dream counseling graduate program in Denver. We felt thrilled and in the center of God’s will. However, our then 10-year-old son, Seth, was struggling. His loneliness, isolation, and new school left him

The Unexpected Companion

 I will never forget my first meeting with the psychiatrist. His office was in a mental health hospital, and it was straight out of a movie… complete with a creaky gate, old brick buildings, and zombie-like patients walking the grounds in hospital gowns.  After a litany of questions, the doctor

Unflappable: Flying by Faith in the Face of Fear

“You’re so unflappable,” people tell me sometimes. And I laugh. Every time I choose to use my voice to say something that’s hard, I always have a level of anxiety internally before I say it. I don’t know if my anxiety will ever go away, but as a child and

Anxiety: An Invitation to Slow Down

“Parang malalim yata ang iniisip mo?” (English: “Looks like you’re thinking about something deep.”)  As a child, my anxiety was perceived as deep thinking. When anxiety takes hold of me, it consumes my thoughts, and often blinds me to the promise of God’s tender and infinite care for me.  When

A New Song

“How’s your health, Caitlin?” This was a simple question from a caring Navigator staff woman, as we caught up during a wedding weekend in 2009. Suddenly, the room spun and I had trouble breathing. Heart racing, I lay down on her couch and tried to compose myself. What in the

Worry Proven to be Highly Effective

A scientific study has revealed the significant effectiveness of worry and anxiety. It turns out that over 95 percent of the thing we worry about never occur! 🙂 In spite of this “scientific study,” we see Jesus taking a different view. In Matthew 6:25-34, He addresses the fears that often