Thoughtful, enjoyable, and practical takes on Jesus-centered prayer and lifestyle practices meant to lead you into life, connect you with God, and help you grow personally and spiritually...
Reading the feed…
Healing is not returning back to a suffering-free existence, but it’s an active choice to move forward in the midst of suffering. Hayley talks through some helpful tips for embracing healing individually and communally. (Art by @scottthepainter)
Vince shares some stories, practical advice, and theology to help us face the arbitrariness and absurdity and cruelty of life in the company of God and others. (Photo by Max Böhme on Unsplash)
Moved by the passing of Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard and the Biblical story of Elijah hearing God's still, small voice, Vince talks about the basic conflict of modern life. (Photo: Glen Hansard's famous Takamine guitar)
Hayley and Vince prep our community for Baptism Sunday (upcoming on July 26). (Photo by Adam Young on Unsplash)
What makes the practice of baptism helpful for us today? Hayley shares her personal experiences with baptism, and how it is a ritual that instructs us in partnering with our pain and drawing upon community. (Photo by Graham Holtshausen on Unsplash)
As our church closes Pride month and looks ahead to Baptism Sunday, Vince helps us carefully read the story of Simeon Bachos (the Ethiopian Eunuch) in Acts 8, an adopted patron saint of queer Christians. (Art by @ourchurchspeaks)
How do we counter narratives of division with justice and care? In marking Pride & Father’s Day, Hayley discusses how we can look to the fluid and embodied nature of the Holy Spirit to guide us in participating in the world. (Image from Homebrewed Christianity's Rediscovering the Spirit)
Society might "gift" us a provided path to belonging, but the cost is too often being put to shame. Have you ever experienced belonging that won’t put you to shame?
Vince remembers an important moment of singing with our BLC community, and reflects on the maturity of communal repentance. (Illustration by Daniel Richardson)
On Pentecost Sunday, a celebration of spiritual experience, Hayley and Vince inspire us with some of their favorite quotes on personally experiencing God, from medieval mystics to Dr. King. (Art: Descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles, by Simon Haider, 1470)
Drawing inspiration from 1 Peter 4-5, Hayley reflects on our experiences and witnessing of suffering in the world and how we can draw upon the presence of Jesus for restoration and hope.
Vince explores how mothers at their best open us to the humility and commitment found in the Hebrew Bible's Ezekiel and Jeremiah when they insist "No more shall it be said..." in response to assumptions that must be overturned. (Photo by Manuel Rheinschmidt on Unsplash)
God is more “all-empowering mentor" than “all-powerful ruler", even though it is “all-powerful ruler” types who tend to try claim divinity.
A well-know parable of Jesus about money (often Americanized to be about something else) hits differently when understood in its proper context.
Jesus' famous "Good Samaritan" parable is powerful as an example, but perhaps even more powerful as a challenge. (Art: Van Gogh's "Good Samaritan")
Jesus' preferred method of teaching (parables) made sense in 1st Century Galilee, and it makes sense in 2026 America too!
Vince wants to "make Easter democratic again", and help us discover hope in the process! Art by Izzy Spitz (book cover for Jesus & Justice, 2026)
Did you know Palm Sunday was a demonstration of nonviolent resistance? For the last Sunday of Lent (and the day after No Kings protests across the US), Vince presents one more example of a liberative read of Jesus and the Bible. (Art: Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem by Paul Oman)
All people know pain, which means healing solidarity is always possible, but some people experience more (or more intense) pain than others for systemic reasons, which presents obstacles to solidarity. Hayley and Vince continue our Liberation for Lent theme. (Image: Korean concept of "han" from book cover "The Wounded Heart of God" by Andrew Sung Park)
When all land has been colonized, the new imperial frontier becomes our time and attention. Vince continues us in our effort to live ourselves into liberation thinking this Lent.
Continuing our Liberation for Lent theme, Hayley explores the connection between liberating our view of our own bodies and working toward bodily liberation for all.
Is faith just safe conversations about being good people in our private lives? What if the God Jesus shows is doing more in the world? Join us in giving up individualistic theologies for Lent, and turning instead toward liberation theologies.
We hope this helps you carve out a space of prayer today to begin Lent.
Hayley explores how faith helps us tell beautiful stories of the inevitable rockiness in friendships, when technology enables constant storytelling but also shapes our storytelling to avoid the rockiness.
Q&A from community discussion around why friendship feels so hard in a technological age, and what we can do to be a part of the solution rather than the problem.
