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The young adult conference in Denmark had just ended. I was now in Odense, walking around the city with my hosts. At the risk of triggering your inner Lewis Black, eager to keep you from enjoying something innocent and sincere, I’ll say this: it was Life. The weather, the conversations, getting beat by Jasmin in

Sometimes I join the Pharisees— “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” I have my reasons. Based on the conversations I’ve had with you, you have yours. I overheard two pastors obnoxiously going on about themselves. Even with headphones, I couldn’t get any work done. The guy sitting next to me was also annoyed. “I think they were religious,”

I was 12 when 2 childhood bullies forced me to watch porn. I had to pretend to masturbate just to get them to stop making fun of me. I was as uncomfortable while it was happening as you are right now while you read this. I don’t mean to play the victim. I watched it

He’s never thought about the future. He does whatever feels good, hoping his dreams show up for free. He goes from job to job begrudgingly because he doesn’t understand hard work because no one ever taught him how to catch things (a job, a ball, a joke). He makes little amounts of money and lives in shoddy apartments

Every church has at least one “bad kid.” Raj was ours. He used words I wasn’t allowed to say. He’d listen to music and watch movies I wasn’t allowed to hear or watch. He was one of the older kids from whom I learned the strategic art of sarcastically trolling your way out of conflicts.

And then, all of a sudden… and then, just like that… and then, out of nowhere. I refuse the premise. Nothing is all of a sudden. Nothing happens “just like that.” And nothing comes out of nowhere. If it seems to be “all of a sudden” or “just like that,” it’s probably not happening to