For context, yes I know this is a stupid issue. But my brother gave me this shirt. He is an atheist like my whole family and he is the only one in the family who supports me in my faith, so this gift means a lot to me, but I still don't know if I can wear this shirt or not? I mean... there is nothing directly offensive about it. But I don't know what to feel of the change from "roll with me" to "walk with me" and the whole image of Jesus on a skateboard. Is it offensive? Or not?

I’ve had this in my house for 1-2 years, and I’m still not sure if this is blasphemy.

I’m not suicidal. But i can’t wait to die. Because of WHO im going to see. But I just want to make sure that when I die that im right with God.

If I, at the end of my life, realize that my faith was for naught, that there is no Jesus, no God, and no heaven, will I regret it? Absolutely not.

Because at the end of the day, beyond the faith, beyond the beliefs, beyond the miracles is a journey to become a better human being, to become someone worthy of the ethics of Christ.

That journey will never be meaningless, because if it turns out that doing it for Jesus meant nothing, I still did it for myself and, more importantly, my fellow human beings.

Both of my parents have been suffering from illnesses and mobility issues the past few years. I moved them into a nursing home just about one year ago because I felt they were no longer safe by themselves in their apartment (even with twice a week home care).

My Dad's health declined over the fall and the nursing team at the facility warned me he didnt have long left. We were able to get him into palative care. He had a massage therapist and music therapist that saw him weekly. My mom and we got to be in the same room together.

Last night, after a long life of mental illness, diabetes, and arthritis, he fell asleep and did not wake. He was 84.

I am grateful he passed peacefully his sleep and I will always respect and appreciate all of the care the entire staff of the facility has shown.

I am sad. My mom is sad. But I'm also at peace. But still, please pray for me and my family.

The parade of pettiness that is the Trump Administration continues to find new ways to be evil by revoking Temporary Protective Stats from thousands of South Sudanese.

Ostensively the State Department revoked the visa status for thousands of refugees because their country --which is on the brink of its second civil war within five years -- hasn't been responsive enough to the Trump Regime's needs over the last three months. If you're honest - I know that's asking a lot these days - it's very obvious that the White House is is just trying to deport as many black and brown people as quickly as possible.

For those who don't know anything about South Sudan the country is 60 percent Christian. The people with TPS status were fleeing war and in order to get TPS status must have done everything "The right way."

At best this collective punishment (A violation of the Geneva Convention) and at its most honest face is naked racism as Stephen Miller and Donald Trump look to deport as many non-white individuals from America as fast as possible.

Hi, my name is Quinn, I am a democratic female catholic living in California. Personally I have come to known Donald trump as someone I don't at all agree with in terms of his views and policies. Since I've lived in CA my whole life, I haven't truly talked to somebody who supports trump until recently, and I found it very informative. While I still strongly disagree with trumps beliefs, I would like this discussion to be an opportunity to listen and take in other people's POVs. Keep in mind, I want this discussion to remain respectful and without sinful words. God bless 🙏 💜

I’m a 15 year old girl who’s a Christian but i don’t want to go to church sometimes because i think it can be a little boring and feel like i would rather do something else. My dad forces me to go even when i don’t want to though. Is it a sin to think church is boring?

I’ve seen clips of the show here and there before I started to watch it and I have to say it is exactly what the religious community needs nowadays.

There’s no demanding or commanding Jesus that politics would have you believe. This show presents Jesus as a friend who is trying to save and help as many people as he can.

A lot of people don’t like the show because it portrays Jesus as too ‘human’, but thats the whole idea behind Jesus being the incarnation of God. He’s meant to be human, to walk among us, and be one of us to save us.

Let me know what you all think.

Here’s a short clip of the show to get an idea of what it’s all about.

https://youtu.be/o5OnF3sg0cY?si=mdC2uWrPgPvb3_NZ

People use these synominisly, the raptures an heretical doctrine that before the second coming Jesus is gonna be a little shy and only zap up the Christian's and leave the rest, the second coming is Jesus coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead, he will come down on a white horse and the trumpets will sound, everyone will know Jesus has come.

Christian mysticism is described as the tradition of christians trying to have a direct and transformative experience of God through prayer, fasting, or other methods.

This tradition goes back to ancient times where christian mystics would head into deserts ( The Desert Fathers) or monasteries to pray in isolation to become closer with God.

While it’s more demanding than just being read the Bible by a pastor, it’s ultimately very rewarding for those who want more from the Scripture than just words.

It’s a path for those that are hungry for the experience of the Holy Spirit.

Has anyone here ever delved deeply into christian mysticism yourselves? Please, share your thoughts.

https://youtu.be/ccAaMhSW_PY?si=1_vM8A2_R276dO6W

It wasn’t the first time, but the second. Because of my work schedule I can’t be there every Sunday, and we only do communion on the first Sunday of a month, the last time I served communion I think was last December. Both times I did the cup.

What made this time significant and different is the first time I was terribly nervous, I was visibly trans (I am less so now, I’ve figured out my look and I pass much better albeit not 100% still). I was worried about what people would think, what if someone rolls their eyes at me, etc. I was trying to serve God and neighbor, but I still in the moment was mostly just thinking about my own issues.

Today though, I just… did it. My pastor had made a comment prior to service that my hair “looks good like that”. It’s one of the only times I’ve worn it down, just free. No headband or ponytail or anything. Because I’m self conscious about my hair and I think it looks stupid sometimes. So I don’t usually just wear it down freely like this but today I did.

When it was time for communion I just went up there and stood, she offered us all communion first and I took it, and then she took communion from one of us and then we all turned around and served. It was beautiful. Everyone smiled at me, said thank you, etc. I do believe this is what God wants, what his kingdom looks like.

Undoubtedly some people in my church are probably conservative. Because mine isn’t one of those “rainbows everywhere” types. They’re very subtle about it. In fact to my knowledge I’m the only lgbtq anything person who goes there, much more the only trans woman for sure. I’m sure there are some in the congregation who have seen me and “don’t agree with it” or whatever, but everyone just smiled and took it from me.

It was then that I had the great realization. I’ve always known it but it really hit me hard this morning. That it’s not about me or any one person. And if any one person cares so much about me then they’re wrong as well. It’s just about God. And if you’re serving God, being the hands and feet of Christ, then he is happy. “Here am I Lord, send me”.

I’m grateful to my UMC for providing me a safe place to worship free from judgment or ridicule or bullying. None of that has happened and if it ever does I’m confident our leadership will handle it. Me and the pastor and all the leadership are good friends at this point.

Anyway I just wanted to share that beautiful moment. It’s in a red county in Texas and to watch the chains of shame and hate (self and otherwise) just fall away and shatter was so beautiful. This is what it’s all about. This is God’s kingdom, this is what we’re called to bring into the earth.

ETA since I didn’t originally make it clear: I have been going to this church since November.

i’ve been wondering lately — what if the fall in genesis wasn’t purely a “catastrophe” in the way we usually frame it, but a necessary part of human development?

if god is all-knowing, he wasn’t surprised by adam and eve’s choice. and the tree of knowledge gave them awareness, moral agency, and a deeper kind of relationship with god (even if it came with consequences).

is it possible that the fall was less about moral failure and more about the painful birth of spiritual maturity?

I really love been a Christian and it's my passion to be a fashion model. But I don't know if it'll be okay to put on any outfit I'm told to for a runway show cuz it's a job I'll be doing.

My mum has often said she finds whenever she gets closer to God and becomes more dedicated to her faith, stuff in her life tends to all wrong quickly.

Is there a correction

This is a letter written by my friend. He is incredibly kind and always puts others first with no expectation that he is owed anything. He washes sleeping bags for the homeless and even gave his belongings away to them while also homeless himself. The rarity in the level of humility and charity is always overlooked by the cynicism of others and the frailty of their own prideful egos.

He was slandered, smeared, and embarrassed by the members of his Church but instead of playing into their worst fears about him he showed grace and acted like a man after the Lord's heart. It is a masterclass in Spiritual Warfare.

Then he proved them wrong in a way that only a apostle could possibly beat. Please read and comment so I can show him he's not alone.

03/23/2025

Dear Pastor Doug and Congregation of CCAoG,

REV 3:22: HE WHO HAS AN EAR LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES. It has come to my attention that there are some concerns about my impact and integrity amongst you fellow faithful. That something changed around you on Wednesdays Bible Study and even more so at Sunday’s service. If you only knew. If you only knew. I just want to say this saddens me. I am so sorry for, and I want to be clear, the words that are about to follow and for the events we have been living through together. I will be leaving the church and protestantism as a whole.

If you remember correctly I remember saying something about an envelope I delivered to the FTK building and how I made a mistake in not signing it. While I thought the story was a total misunderstanding and the person who runs the FTK building completely understood when I explained it to him I did not relay that. While I won't go over what was in the envelope because it was meant for someone and him alone I will say that looking back on it I think it was a mistake to bring it up in hindsight.

However, my reason to bring it up in the first place was because I didn't know if I overreacted and was earnestly looking for the people around us to explain to me just how things work in this town. In Pastor Doug relating to me the story about the man who used to chain the doors at the church it makes me feel like my intuition was perhaps completely correct even though it seems as though no one wants to take a stand on the situation at all. But the kicker in all this for me is how one of you at the bible study before today threw out the fact that I vaguely look like The Unabomber due to the fact I wear a black beanie and a cardigan. While I understood her joke and appreciated it as such, my earnest question in this context is why would anyone say anything like that to anyone at any time in front of other people? This is yet another tactic in scapegoating someone for a cheap laugh and while again I understand where she was coming from and I got her humor as I have both read his manifesto and have seen documentaries and docudramas on the man out of knowing myself and who I don’t want to become. I feel this is one of those moments where I truly had one of three roads to walk down in I either escalate the joke and give it right back to her in a manner of someone who would criticize the way they comport themselves through humor, I ostracize her in front of a people who would out of not knowing me well enough never would have taken my side and only see vitriol and vindictiveness out of any attempt I made to hold her accountable or the third option of letting it roll off my back by just saying "Wow" and letting it marinate. I guess my question at this point is can you not see how all these options are perilous at best?

As I believe this may be the last time, at least for a while I will be seeing anyone at the church but for maybe you I have a favor to ask. I have a couple of things I want to share with you in the context and spirit of our conversation we had today in the way I communicate through modern parables. Below you will find the lyrics to a song I am going to send you and 4 short videos. I ask that you show these either at Bible study or I request that you make a sermon around the skepticism the Pharisees and Jews felt about Jesus and how it led to his death at the hands of Pilate and link this occurrence to them in some creative way. If these people still live through their skepticism after digesting the blessings I am trying to deliver before them I ask that, VERILY, they make their choice and be content.

I would again ask that perhaps you show them to the congregation and explain to them that it is truly this type of behavior that while vigilant, can be truly harmful to some who is on the outside looking in. This is the way that people like the UnaBomber, The Columbine Shooters, or as we talked about in the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie and other people like them are created. This is how they are alienated in every move they make. This is how they begin to lose touch with reality because they are now too busy letting comments like that, which are in a certain context completely inappropriate, should perhaps be shared in private companies with those they are meant to amuse because you never know when those that they are meant for will let them eat away at them eternally as you cannot put that proverbial toothpaste back in the tube once it is out and the manifestation of suspicion takes hold.

(To be continued...)

I only read bits and fragments of the Bible, and my mind rejects all plans to read the Bible as "whole books". I turn the pages and come across a sentence and just read that sentence or that passage, and then I repeat the process.

It is useless to give me Bible reading plans because I follow none of them.

When I have been give another book, I can read it very well. I read the whole book 'Why Empires Fall' in a week, although I understood only about 30% of it.

But the Bible is different. Sometimes I even feel bored when I read about the resurrection of Jesus. Perhaps my meds have something to do with the tranquilising effect, but this is my current situation.

Are you a creative christian and want to show your creative side? Well come on down to r/Ex3535 to discuss, post, encourage, and talk to other fellow creative believers! :) Our sub is based upon the verse exodus 35 35:  ^"He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers."

Also just in case anyone has this question, no it doesn't have to be JUST christian art, our sub is more for Christians who are creative. Also since we're a smaller sub, if you do join please make an introduction post introducing yourself, what you look forward to while being on the sub, and what you're creative endeavor

Come, it'll be fun! :)

We've had a cat named Mork in our family for 17 years, since I was around 8 or 9. We're in the process of getting a new apartment, so I went out with my mom to look at a few. It took a few hours, and when we got back home, I found my baby laying in front of the pantry, completely stiff.

She had been there for a few hours at least. We prepared a box for her, I cleaned up her urine, and I put her in the box as carefully as I could. We took her to get cremated, and we're going to get her ashes back in a few weeks.

I didn't let it hit me until later in the day. There were things that needed to be done, and I needed to focus on those things. We had to find out what we were doing with her, take her to the vet, let family know, etc. The only personal thing I took the time to do was to say a short prayer for her.

We got home later in the day, and I started to finally get emotional. I moved her food bowl onto the counter, and it just broke me. I went up to my room quickly and I tried to not break down, and I don't know how I didn't cry.

I laid down to go to sleep a few hours ago, and I finally broke down in tears. My younger cat, Lady, came up to comfort me. All I could think of while petting her was how stiff Mork was when I picked her up. I just see her face, her eyes and mouth were wide open. It isn't how I wanted the last time I'd see her to be, but right now, I can't stop seeing it.

It isn't important to us how she died, she was so old that it really coud've been anything (and we don't want to know for sure, or else it'd invite a lot of "what if we did something different"). The vet thinks she had a blood clot, but we didn't pay for testing, so it's really just more of a hunch on her part. She says that as far as elderly cats passing away goes, it's one of the quickest ways it can happen.

The only "good" thing that I can say about her going this way is that she didn't have much of a decline. She never stopped eating, she never stopped bathing herself. She didn't have a decline in her quality of life before passing. She was still happy until the end.

I guess I really just made this post so that I could put my thoughts into words, and maybe get some sleep. If you can please say a short prayer for Mork, or include Mork in your prayers the next time you do, I would greatly appreciate it.

How do I explain to my Christian mother I listen to the goremetal band exhume. I'm not a Satanist but I'm afraid she'll disown ne

Just like the title says.. I'm really scared to get close to God because I don't want to be like Peter and betray Him so much. I feel like if I just stay away and try to do good without going to Church that I can still go to heaven and be a good person ¿ I'm scared that if I become closer to God that I will experience attacks from the Devil and it'll be even worse than it is now. I really don't want that. I mean who does?

Have any of you felt like this? How did you overcome it?

I'm too broke to afford IRL Lego so I made this on Bricklink.

Not hype. Not marketing. Just the honest truth from someone who’s been in the trenches.

Let me start with this: I don’t post reviews often. But when I do, it’s because something deeply matters. And From Submarine to Sending: Escaping Sideline Christianity in a World Trained for Spectators?

Yeah… this one’s different.

I’ve spent the last 10 years neck-deep in church leadership, disciple-making, and movement theory. I’ve read the models, been through the burnout, planted the groups, and wrestled through the mess. I’ve devoured books by Alan Hirsch, Ralph Moore, David Garrison, and more.

But this one hit me in the soul.

The Premise? Painfully Accurate. Prophetically Timed.

Most of us aren’t running from God—we’re just buried under church-as-we-know-it. Submarine Christians. That’s the metaphor the author uses—and it sticks.

“Present, but hidden. Gifted, but unused. Sent, but stationary.”

You feel that? Because I did. We show up on Sundays, maybe midweek. But the rest of the week? We’re submerged. The result? We’ve built a crowd, not a culture. Spectators, not sent ones.

And the author doesn’t just describe the problem. He dismantles it—gently, boldly, biblically.

He peels back layers of church tradition, cultural habits, and leadership shortcuts with surgical precision. But it’s not cynical. It’s not angry. It’s hopeful.

It’s a wake-up call for the Body of Christ to rise above the waterline.

Why This Book Isn’t Just “Good”—It’s Dangerous (In the Best Way)

I’ve seen books that inspire leaders. I’ve seen books that offer tactics. This one reignites the mission.

It reads like a blend of: • Andrew Murray’s depth • Tim Keller’s cultural clarity • Francis Chan’s conviction • And your favorite real-life mentor who listens more than they talk, but when they speak—it lands.

It’s for the believer who knows deep down, there’s more. For the pastor who’s exhausted by the Sunday production line. For the disciple-maker quietly pouring into a few, wondering if anyone else still believes in multiplication.

This book says: you’re not crazy. And you’re not alone.

Best Line (that punched me in the face):

“If our building disappeared tomorrow, would our disciple-making presence still impact the city?”

Oof. Right?

That line alone should be taped to every church office wall in the country.

Who Needs to Read This? • Pastors on the verge of burnout, tired of filling rooms but not forming lives. • Ministry teams who know something’s broken but can’t quite name it. • Believers who feel the gap between Jesus’ command and church culture. • You, if you’ve ever whispered, “There’s got to be more than this.”

What You’ll Get (Besides Convicted) • Stories that feel real—like you’re in the garage or living room with the people being transformed. • Cultural and biblical context that actually enhances the message instead of bogging it down. • Action steps that make sense—whether you’re leading a megachurch or a micro-group. • A fresh picture of what it really means to be the Church—sent, scattered, Spirit-empowered.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a trendy church growth book. This is a manifesto for multiplication. A reorientation toward the actual mission Jesus gave us.

It won’t grow your attendance chart overnight—but it might awaken a few believers to live fully sent. And that? That’s how movements begin.

So here’s the move: Read it. Repent. Rally your people. Then start living like the Church was always meant to—dangerous, decentralized, and deeply devoted.

Because Jesus didn’t die to fill seats. He died to send sons and daughters.

And if you’re still breathing, you’re still called.

Grab this book. Get out of the submarine. And let’s turn the tide.

https://www.amazon.com/Submarine-Sending-Escaping-Christianity-Spectators-ebook/dp/B0F3V3B8DF/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=185L0NW6SX3ML&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pq-qlC3RV8q3TdB64PGe0A.IIykjr10lEk-J7_C_pGJPqGL3Uw8Mm0UTnkI0nxCxD8&dib_tag=se&keywords=tony+ajhar&qid=1743970006&sprefix=tony+ajha%2Caps%2C501&sr=8-1