In a recent sermon at Calvary the Hill Church in Seattle I shared about the difference between temporary and vocational singleness, and why we should consider vocational singleness instead of living in limbo. Temporary singleness is the default state everyone is born into, whereas vocational singleness is a lifetime vocation of singleness for the sake of doing kingdom work with undivided attention.

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?

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.

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?

Missio Alliance published a piece I wrote about volunteer versus conscription armies and the similarities to called versus involuntary celibacy.

After five years of intentional discernment, I am confident that God is calling me to permanently commit to vocational singleness and to the Nashville Family of Brothers. On Saturday, September 30th, I'm gonna make those commitments!

I went on the Adventures in Theology podcast with Brayden Brookshier to talk about vocational singleness, including how God called me to vocational singleness. By the end of college I had experienced multiple long periods of singleness and studied Jesus & Paul's words about lifetime singleness for the sake of the kingdom…

At a recent campus minister training, I urged them not to bring up gay sex ethics with students until they first covered God's wisdom for everyone's sexual stewardship (and addressed ways straight Christians often fall short). Why? Consistency and effectiveness.

Some who know Jesus experience crippling doubt. Others who don’t yet know Jesus see a Creation in chaos. Christ’s promises seem to ring hollow, the kingdom is coming too slowly, the gospel feels feeble. Thankfully a potent vehicle of kingdom work and kingdom hope for the early Church is available to God’s people today, if we will only embrace and nourish it. Amid Christ’s ministry on earth, he instituted a vocation meant to give us hope for the kingdom to come and to bring forth that kingdom with undivided attention: the vocation of singleness.

"Whenever monks come back, marriages will come back."

Read this interview with RENEW.org exploring what Jesus and Paul taught about vocational singleness. Plus learn how our churches can better support those called to abstinent singleness for the sake of the kingdom.

Christian celibacy is a tragically misunderstood concept. Depictions of kingdom singleness, from Renaissance paintings to modern television shows, often misrepresent Christ's invitation and early Church practices, tempting some ordinary Christians to ignore their calling and others to indulge in a caricature of the vocation of Jesus. These thoughts swirled through my mind as I took up an invitation to spend a holiday weekend at a friend’s house in the land of 1000 lakes…

My hope for the Church is that gay celibate Christians would find real family. What kind of family are we all made for? How can vocational singles, regardless of sexual orientation, build the permanent family they need?

Tiger King. Schitt's Creek. Perhaps the most popular shows of covid-times tells us something about what we value. Perhaps it reveals that we've suffered from a pandemic of romance idolatry long before masks and vaccines.

Help protect gay Christians from victim mentality. I went on the Voices in My Head Podcast with Rick Lee James to talk about faith and sexuality, including the barriers to gay Christian face to thriving according to God's wisdom.

In previous posts we established that Jesus and Paul are particularly commending permanent singleness in Matt 19 and 1 Cor 7. Later we explained WHY every Christian young adult should open-handedly discern between vocational singleness and Christian marriage, seeking God's preference for each of our lives. But HOW can we discern?

What if sexuality sermons centered how God made all of us for intimacy in the context of family instead of focusing on marriage and sex? I recently had the opportunity to write for Outreach Magazine about framing conversation in terms of "sexual stewardship".

Why should every Christian young adult open-handedly discern between vocational singleness or Christian marriage? And what about reasonable objections?

I went on the Broken but Beautiful Podcast with JP Conway and Drue Clark to talk about how churches can better support those called to vocational singleness. First, teach what Jesus and Paul actually had to say about a lifetime calling to celibate singleness for the sake of kingdom work with undivided attention…