One of my first introductions to what would later become modern social justice training happened years ago while I was working as a Child Protective Services investigator in Arizona. At the time, I was also working toward becoming a therapist, and I believed strongly in treating people equally. I believed investigations should rise or fall […]
When Equality Became Equity (The Same Pants, Part 2) Read More »
My dad taught me something simple that has stayed with me my entire life. He used to say, “Everyone puts their pants on the same way, one leg at a time.” To some people, that may sound like just an old country saying, but to my father, it was a philosophy of life. My dad
The Same Pants (Part 1) Read More »
Years ago, I worked as a mental health crisis counselor on a mobile crisis team. I loved that job. It was fast-paced, unpredictable, and emotionally intense. Police officers, hospitals, schools, families, and emergency dispatchers would call us when someone was threatening suicide, spiraling into psychosis, or emotionally collapsing in front of the people around them.
I keep thinking about this idea that we are all writing a story. None of us fully controls the opening chapters. Some people begin life surrounded by stability, encouragement, safety, and opportunity. Others begin with chaos, neglect, poverty, addiction, abuse, loss, discrimination, instability, or trauma. Life is not fair in how it distributes suffering. Some
You Still Hold the Pen Read More »
The Supreme Court handed down a decision today striking down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors. The ruling, decided 8–1, surprised many. It will likely reshape how states regulate therapy, speech, and professional boundaries moving forward. For many of my colleagues in counseling and mental health, this decision feels like a step backward. For
One of the most overlooked moments in the life of Jesus happens early, before the crowds, before the healings, before the Sermon on the Mount. It happens quietly, in the wilderness. In that story, Jesus is offered something far more seductive than comfort or bread. He is offered power. Real power. Political influence. Control over
The Temptation Jesus Refused (and the One American Christianity Accepted) Read More »
Have you ever noticed how we hear something powerful and immediately think, Someone else really needs to hear this? Not us, of course. It’s always a brother-in-law. A cousin. A neighbor. That person on Facebook. The one who doesn’t get it. I’ve watched this play out for years in churches, classrooms, therapy offices, and living
Amen. Preach It, Brother. (Just Not to Me.) Read More »
This morning we lost power. We still do not have power and are getting a little colder. We’ll be fine. That’s not the point of this story. Like many people do during storms, someone posted in a community group asking if others had lost electricity. Several folks chimed in: yes, they were out too. Others
When the Power Goes Out: Gratitude Without Superiority Read More »
I have been thinking all week about the confession of Philip Yancey. For decades, Yancey has been one of the clearest voices in evangelical Christianity, a writer who made grace feel believable again. His books didn’t just defend Christianity; they humanized it. He gave language to the weary believer, the bruised skeptic, the person who
When Christian Heroes Fall: Hypocrisy, Grace, and the Strange Work of Truth Read More »
CACREP’s recent memorandum, temporarily suspending the 2024 standards on “underrepresented populations,” attempts to sound procedural and neutral. But behind the careful phrasing is a larger truth our field keeps avoiding: we talk endlessly about diversity, yet we have no coherent definition of who is actually underrepresented. CACREP never tells us. The memo doesn’t either. And
When Diversity Becomes a Box-Checking Game: A Response to CACREP’s New DEI Suspension Read More »