by Jakob Topper | Aug 6, 2021 | Opinion
A three-year-old boy is hospitalized with COVID-19 in my town. I learned about his situation from a pastor friend who sent out a prayer request for him. I have a three-year-old girl. Her mother and I do everything we can to protect her. We take precautions and wear...
by Jakob Topper | Aug 4, 2021 | Opinion
“Try being an atheist.” That’s the strangest pastoral advice I’ve ever given. It wasn’t a joke or a trick either. A friend (not a church member) came to me for help because they were struggling with suicidal ideation. “What do you do if god hates you?” That was how...
by Jakob Topper | Feb 15, 2021 | Opinion
If I’ve read it once, I’ve read it a hundred times in the last year. An article or social media post states that “the church should never be the same again,” that “we can never go back to the way things were,” or one of a dozen other iterations of this same sentiment....
by Jakob Topper | Oct 13, 2020 | Opinion
Inclusion, diversity and tolerance are worthy ideals that many churches publicly affirm, but they often come with some unexpected baggage. My church’s mission statement begins, “We are an inclusive community.” It’s one of the things that drew me here in the beginning...
by Jakob Topper | Nov 6, 2019 | Opinion
Privilege is a wall that protects the privileged from the inequity in the world. This is one of the insights revealed in Jesus’ parable about the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8. Conventional wisdom suggests judges are fair and impartial, but Jesus illustrates that this...
