End of the Christian Life

It started as a seed of an idea, as I heard from persons with ongoing, chronic illness after the release of my The End of the Christian Life book. Many of them experience chronic pain, heavy fatigue, and other symptoms, even if their diagnosis is not considered "life-threatening." Together we wondered: what does their Christian calling look like when the illness does not disappear, after months, after years, after a decade? It is an existential question for me because the gift of life comes along with the challenges of ongoing chemotherapy treatment. And with that, side effects. But the conversations intrigued me, connecting to even bigger questions:  why are chronic illnesses so rapidly on the rise in the United States, and other countries in the modern West today? What does a path of healing look like when one cannot just "take a pill," as we know in light of the...

Even in a pandemic (perhaps especially in a pandemic) it is easy to live in denial. We can easily fool ourselves into thinking that we are masters of our destiny, designers of our story, a story without limits. Yet Genesis 3:19 gives the reminder, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Lent is a season of living, in an embodied way, into the reality that we are pilgrims in this mortal life. We have not yet reached the promised land. God gives us nourishment, which can offer a foretaste of our final destination. But we’re not there yet. Would you like to move deeper into this mortal yet deeply hopeful reality in Christ in this 2022 Lenten season? Whether taking the journey as an individual or with a small group, this FREE devotional guide for The End of the Christian Life could be a companion on the path. You’ll find a reflection...

Over the last few months, I've responded to many questions in podcast and webinar interviews about The End of the Christian Life in relation to the challenges we face during the pandemic. I have many thoughts on this. But recently I published my thoughts on a particular aspect of this, Christians and the Covid-19 vaccine, in Christianity Today. First appearing on May 6, 2021, I made the case for how a classical Christian theology of creation, along with a Christ-centered path of discipleship, should lead vaccine-hesitant Christians to seriously consider receiving the Covid 19 vaccine. I seek to do this with empathy, understanding that in the pandemic all of us have experienced fear -- fear that comes with the risks of living as mortal creatures in this time. Be patient with yourself and others. It's OK to notice the fear, to recognize it, to give it some space. Yet, as ones...

Here's an article with material adapted from The End of the Christian Life featured in the October issue of Christianity Today. Enjoy! And share with others you know who might be mortal. ;-)   I used to assume that God owed me a long life—to pursue a vocation and family with full strength, to live long enough to become a grandparent. Then, at 39, I was diagnosed with incurable cancer. The expected storyline of my life was interrupted. Now, as a cancer patient, my expectations have changed. The cancer is likely to cut decades from my life; I experience daily pain and fatigue that drain my strength. While my former expectations of God may seem reasonable, I’ve come to see how I had unwittingly embraced a form of the prosperity gospel. I believed that God owed me a long life. This assumption is widespread. Among those in the United States who believe in God, 56 percent...

“As strange as it seems, coming to terms with our limits as dying creatures is a life-giving path.” After five years of research, conversations, writing, and edit after edit, The End of the Christian Life is now out and available! I’m grateful to so many students, pastors, scholars, cancer patients and others who helped to make this book possible. The writing process was a challenging one — as I integrated my theological explorations and questions with the [nonfiction] stories of various friends and acquaintances who have died. Hopefully, the result is a book that has theological substance and existential power. It’s available now in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. The last five years have felt like a quest — often urgent, sometimes winding — and I’ve discovered many wonderful thought-companions on the journey. So, in addition to the book release, today we’re releasing the first two episodes in a six-episode podcast...

I'm thrilled to announce that my next book, The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing Our Mortality Frees Us to Truly Live, is available for pre-order! You can check out the trailer for the book below, along with a few of the endorsements. In addition, for those subscribed to my mailing list, you are invited to apply for the Launch Team – able access to a digital copy of the book in the first week of August! Details are available through this link, and applications need to be received in the next few days. I often ask seminary graduates about their biggest challenge in ministry which involves the intersection of theology and practice. The most common response? Death and dying. Advising families on medical decisions, funerals, comforting parents who have lost a child – the examples are many. In light of this, and some of my own experience as a...

Published in Mere Orthodoxy, April 20, 2020 Our world feels contaminated with disease. And yet, precisely in light of this contagion, perhaps we can learn more about the breadth and depth of Christian resurrection hope. Indeed, our cultural imagination may be more in tune to a reality that has a great deal to do with Eastertide season: the way in which the whole world is in need of healing, in need of a Deliverer. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, a central cultural point of reference for resurrection hope was simply the hope in the afterlife of the individual. Indeed, despite the much-reported increase in Americans who have no religious affiliation, belief in an afterlife seems to be very popular. About a third of those who do not believe in God still believe in life after death. A University of Chicago study indicates that, while belief in God and affiliation with a particular religion have been...