A daily devotional on Matthew 10:16-22 written for The Living Church

A daily devotional on Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 written for The Living Church

In anticipation of my lifetime commitments to vocational singleness and to the Nashville Family of Brothers, I wrote this letter…

What did God make us for as sexual beings? What best paths did God give us to enjoy sexuality to the fullest? How can we resist sexual temptation, generally?

Some people assume that my same-sex attractions are the sole reason that I am committing to vocational singleness. Not so! For me, celibacy isn’t a consolation prize or a second-class vocation. I'm confident God would have called me to vocational singleness even if I were straight.

Why discern God’s calling to vocational singleness or Christian marriage? How can we discern between vocational singleness and Christian marriage? How can pastors and parents help Christians discern well?

The short answer: whomever God gives me to love.

For 24 hrs, I thought I might leave my family. God knew this summer would include some setbacks, so He made sure I was on sabbatical to provide plenty of bandwidth. I'm grateful. One of those tough moments was 24 hours when I seriously doubted re-committing to the Nashville Family of Brothers.

When I make lifetime commitments to vocational singleness and to NFOB next month, I want some kind of physical symbol to remind me of my commitments and help me share my story with others. So I decided to get a tattoo.

When I shared about my spiritual dryness with one of the mentors at L'Abri, he encouraged me to read a section of "The Screwtape Letters". It'd been 2010 since I read the book: "God relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks...God will set [believers] off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over temptation…

Christians need to be able to make a winsome, positive case for a historic sexual ethic. But sometimes you get an email or someone knocks on your door, and the conversation goes something like, ”Yeah, I understand your arguments for a historic sexual ethic, but what about…” and they go on to list one of the convincing arguments for a revisionist sexual ethic. How can you respond?

If bachelor parties (at their best) are celebrations of the past and preparation for a lifetime commitment in the near future, then vocational singles deserve a bachelor party as much as any groom-to-be. So in July, some of the people who've been instrumental in my journey thus far helped me celebrate and prepare, complete with...

I went into my sabbatical hoping to detox from workaholism, and in the process, God taught me even more than I expected about what over-working has cost me over the years. In the past I used work to entertain myself, distract myself, and numb myself. From what? Fear.

Over the past few years, I've gotten in the habit of choosing to work 70 hours a week and neglecting my family of brothers and people from my church who I've committed to.

I went on the Good Christian Co. Podcast with Robby Ortiz and Joshua Delp to talk about faith and sexuality. At one point, they asked me how to navigate conversations where people disagree about the morality of gay marriage and gay sex. My solution: Don't talk about sexual ethics.

Jesus intended vocational singles to live "for the sake of the kingdom" by reinvesting the time and energy they would have used to raise kids to instead do even more non-child-raising kingdom work. 50% more. Let me explain.

Marriage isn't the solution to untamed lust. Some claim that "better to marry than to burn" in 1 Corinthians 7:9 means that people who find abstinence challenging are automatically called to marriage. That's a common misinterpretation that has particularly hurt mothers and children.

I went on the Goodlion Podcast to explore a variety of questions in the intersection of faith and sexuality, including the different ways broken sexuality shows up in our world. Christians may be quick to point to the broken reality of same-sex attractions, but everyone's sexuality is broken. Straight people lust after people they aren't married to. Married Christians can even lust after their own spouse.

What is the vocational singleness that Jesus and Paul invited every Christian to consider? Is it still a call to family? How does one discern whether they’re called to vocational singleness?

During a recent Ask Me Anything, someone asked me how I refrain from gay sex and gay pornography. As I've shared consistently on this platform and when I speak publicly, I am not perfect. Years ago I struggled mightily with sexual addiction, and while I have experienced significant progress over the past five years, I am still a sinner in desperate need of a savior. But we are not without hope.