Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don’t have any. What is tragic is faith that has no room for them.

One of the oldest aches in the bones of humanity is loneliness. I mean it's one of the things that goes way back; loneliness is not good for the world. And so, whoever you are, gay or straight, it is totally normal, natural, and healthy to want somebody to go through life with. It's central to our humanity.

Many people confuse religion with God and walk away from them both. The point isn't Christianity, the point is being a Christian.

The best team does not always win, it's the team that plays the best.

As a pastor, you get invited into the most poignant moments of people's lives. Whether it's a wedding or a funeral or a hospital visit, you get invited into the center of the event, whether or not you know the people.

Take faith, for example. For many people in our world, the opposite of faith is doubt. The goal, then, within this understanding, is to eliminate doubt. But faith and doubt aren't opposites. Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it's alive and well and exploring and searching. Faith and doubt aren't opposites, they are, it turns out, excellent dance partners.

Suffering, it turns out, demands profound imagination. A new future has to be conjured up because the old future isn't there anymore.