James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Many Christians, unlike Jesus, demand life transformation. Question: if love is only valuable when it produces a desired outcome, was it ever authentic love? Or was it merely a transaction? (Asking for a friend) 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Friends, in my latest column on @patheos.com, I explore the SBC vote to ban women in ministry: “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵.” www.patheos.com/blogs/sacred...patheos.comThe SBC’s Genital Obsession Is Idolatry Women In Ministry And The SBC: Why Biological Authority Becomes IdolatryThis article argues that the Southern Baptist Convention’s restrictions on women in ministry distort biblical witness by privileging biological categories over divine calling and Spirit-led authority. 011
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 14/04/2026Tonight is a time for peace, yes. It is not a time for silence or cowardice. True peacemakers do not walk in fear, but stand against evil in every form. Our silence while innocents are murdered is not peace. It is sin. The question we must ask to sleep at night is this: Will God forgive us? 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 03/03/2026Friends, my friend and brilliant theologian @thomasjayoord.bsky.social has just published Volume 1 of his “Systematic Theology of Love,” the first work to ever carry that name. It is rigorous, visionary, and at moments truly courageous. Please take a look! a.co/d/0cpFjk2oa.coA Systematic Theology of Love: Volume 1: God and Creation: Oord, Thomas Jay: 9781968136505: Amazon.com: BooksA Systematic Theology of Love: Volume 1: God and Creation [Oord, Thomas Jay] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Systematic Theology of Love: Volume 1: God and Creation 020
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 22/01/2026Friends, I just wrote a column on @patheos.com about how grace meets us in the darkness of our own exhaustion: “𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.” www.patheos.com/blogs/sacred...patheos.comThe Door That Would Not HoldA weary Jesus seeks a closed door and quiet, but a desperate mother breaks through. Explore neurodivergence, kenosis, and grace as presence that remains when capacity is frayed. 011
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 07/01/2026Friends, I wrote a new column on Patheos that explores what redemption means when rescue never comes. “𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭.” www.patheos.com/blogs/sacred... #SacredOutcasts #Theology #FaithAndDoubt #Redemption #Titanicpatheos.comHow The Titanic Sank My Understanding Of RedemptionA theological reflection on the Titanic, suffering, and why redemption is not rescue, but presence when no explanation remains. 011
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 01/01/2026Under a blood red sky A crowd has gathered, black and white Arms entwined, the chosen few The newspaper says, says Say it's true, it's true And we can break through Though torn in two, we can be one Nothing changes on New Year's Day #U2 // New Year’s Day #newyearsday 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 23/12/2025Friends, I struggle with grief. What do you do with it when it doesn’t go away? I put some words to it in my column at @patheos.com: “‘𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘫𝘢𝘩’ 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘱𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸.” www.patheos.com/blogs/sacred...patheos.comWhat Jeff Buckley Taught Me About GriefA theological reflection on Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” as a song of grief, trauma, and grace, where faith does not rescue, but refuses to abandon. 021
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 02/11/2025Because grace makes beauty Out of ugly things Grace finds beauty In everything Grace finds goodness in everything U2//Grace #u2 #grace 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 27/09/2025Rituals, rites, and symbols do not make us like Christ any more than a uniform makes us Babe Ruth. To follow Jesus is to make disciples by living a life of authentic love instead of hiding behind institutions and empty gestures. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 23/09/2025All of these pastors quoting Charlie Kirk quoting Paul reminds me of Michael Scott quoting Michael Scott quoting Wayne Gretzky. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2025Of all I have witnessed in this world, the fiercest cruelty is perpetrated by those who profess to be Christian yet betray Christ's love in word and deed. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Christians fashion martyrs in their own image because its easier than worshipping Jesus himself by embracing the radical love he lived and died for. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 01/09/2025The darkness may seem vast, and the light small and dim. But all the light we cannot see still shines. Beyond the valley peaks the horizon, undiscovered yet abounding. Every shadow bears witness of a hidden flame. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 14/07/2025Last week, I broke my neck. And now I see the promise of 2 Corinthians 4:10 as a prayer: Our physical bodies carry the death of Jesus so that his life may also manifest in us. Sometimes the love we are called to live is revealed through brokenness and suffering, not in spite of it. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 04/07/2025I believe in the kingdom come Then all the colors will bleed into one Bleed into one But yes I'm still running U2//I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 02/07/2025“‘It’s not left-wing rhetoric to feed the hungry, heal the sick,’ Bono added. ‘If this isn’t murder, I don’t know what is.’” www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/u...nytimes.comBush, Obama and Bono Commend USAID Staff Members on Their Last Day 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 24/06/2025Only love, Only love can leave such a mark But only love, Only love can heal such a scar U2//Magnificent 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 24/04/2025The courage to love others is a pursuit worth living for, and even worth dying for. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 20/04/2025Though many on Easter Sunday turn their eyes to the empty tomb, resurrection lives and moves every day in both ordinary and reckless acts of love—love that casts out fear, disrupts divisions, and calls forth life from every shadow death has tried to claim. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 19/04/2025Jesus wasn’t born to die. He wasn’t a victim of an angry God craving sacrifice. His death reveals our brutality. His resurrection demonstrates we were never abandoned, but instead gifted grace, connection, and love that refuses to give up. #GoodFriday 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 01/04/2025There is no them There's only us (U2//Invisible) 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 22/03/2025I once believed the grace preached by many but given by few was greater than our failures. But whether feeding the hungry you vote to deport or hating those you fear to love, grace that fails to transform you is just a lie masking your cruelty. 020
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 13/03/2025Friends, I just wrote a @patheos.bsky.social article proposing a new perspective on Zacchaeus’s story that could radically challenge our understanding of discipleship and even atonement: www.patheos.com/blogs/sacred...patheos.comCalled By NameA new look at Zacchaeus's story could radically challenge what we believe about discipleship and atonement. 021
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 02/03/2025This same isolationist thought was popular when Hitler invaded Poland. Then 6,000,000 Jews and 5,000,000 non-combatant non-Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Loving others begins with ordinary actions in our daily life, and ordinary love is what we are missing. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 02/03/2025Walk on, walk on What you've got they can't deny it Can't sell it, or buy it Walk on, walk on Stay safe tonight #Ukraine #U2 110
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 03/02/2025The sacrament is not in a cup but in living vessels filled with Christ’s love—fellowship with outcasts, the persecuted, and the rejected, those cast aside even by the church, broken by and for our transgressions. For the Pharisees never learned that mercy is greater than sacrifice. 100
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Join me in prayer for the safety of students, teachers, and all others at this campus www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...nbcnews.com1 student killed, another wounded in Nashville high school cafeteria shooting; suspected shooter deadPolice said the suspected shooter sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the school district said Antioch High School is on lockdown. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 20/01/2025Hitler also claimed he was a Christian, doing the work of the Lord, and likely genuinely believed it. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/d...vanityfair.comDonald Trump Claims Divine Mandate in Dark Inaugural AddressTrump took the oath of office Monday inside the Capitol, where his supporters staged an insurrection four years ago, and declared it “liberation day.” 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 09/01/2025Hope is the source of my despair, the anguished prayers and unfulfilled dreams clawing for breath. Without hope, the bad would seem just fine, and I wouldn’t even care. Take heart. If you are struggling, it is the hope within you demonstrating life over death. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 31/12/2024I’m excited to share a new two-volume project exploring God’s uncontrolling love, called Amipotence by theologian @thomasjayoord.bsky.social. My essay explores how cosmic limits and church failings highlight God’s transformative love beyond the constraints of religion. Check it out! a.co/d/hoZlwz7 030
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 30/12/2024www.thedailybeast.com/jimmy-carter...thedailybeast.comJimmy Carter’s Life Should Make Christian Right Feel AshamedAs a person of faith, I have been horrified to watch Christianity’s fall from grace in mainstream America. The former president’s legacy stands out as an embodiment of what is missing today from our l... 020
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 28/12/2024This Christmas revealed a contrast: while many spoke of embodying Mary’s open heart, their actions often mirrored the closed inn rather than the welcoming manger. In a world shaped by such choices, the manger’s message urges us to create spaces of love and belonging, even when others shut the door. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 23/12/2024The courage of Christlike love affirms the value of others, uniting humanity through acts of compassion and grace that transcend fear, challenge hypocrisy, confront bigotry, and reject all judgment. 020
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 20/12/2024Church leaders who condemn the LGBTQ+ community need to realize that queer people have always been in the church, reaching in growing numbers those who you marginalize and reject in Jesus’ name. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 13/12/2024In my latest column on Patheos, I share a personal video announcing that I am surrendering my ministerial credentials as an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and terminating my lifelong membership. www.patheos.com/blogs/sacred...patheos.comWe Are Never Ever Getting Back TogetherI'm walking away from the only church I've ever known because of institutional failures and abuses, and I'm not alone. 030
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 12/12/2024Legalists who proof-text scripture to clobber the dignity and worthiness of entire communities care about things Jesus did not, and that should tell us all we need to know. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 10/12/2024Punishment reigns wherever fears prosper, but true love casts out fear. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 08/12/2024In an existence where all things eventually end, love perseveres beyond time and space, and is all we really have left. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 06/12/2024Pouring out your life in compassion fills your heart with so much love that no space for judgment remains. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 04/12/2024Refusing to accept those who are different from you is not holy–it is bigotry. Only when we abandon tribalism can the church make Christlike disciples rather than hypocrites. 010
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 03/12/2024To be like Jesus is to love and affirm those whom religious hypocrites have cast aside as unworthy. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 01/12/2024Disagreements should unite us in love, not divide us in fear. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 26/11/2024Cowardice is not synonymous with being a peacemaker. The middle ground so many have claimed is the last refuge for servants who bury talents in the sand. The opportunities you didn't take is the legacy you will leave behind. Though we have lost fellowship, you still have my love, if not my respect. 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 25/11/2024Why do so many "disciples" perceive it as honorable or somehow Christlike to grasp a sword by which they are cursed to live and die? 000
James Travis Young @jamestravisyoung.bsky.social · 24/11/2024Christlike unity embraces diversity, not conformity. 000