For Christians standing against fascism in the U.S. - Be ready to be accused of being anti-American, Antifa, anti-Christian, domestic terrorists, etc. We're seeing the modern day Machtergreifung and Führerprinzip (look them up), and to make basic Christian theological declarations about the

"I have never heard anyone to date try to convince me that AI is a wonderful tool because it will enable workers to be able to have more margin, work-life balance, and the ability to stop, rest, and reflect regularly at work... timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/aint-no-re...

I’ve seen quite a few pastors talk about how they feel it is unfair that they are expected to speak up on flashpoint current events. However, I think there are a few things they need to understand timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/how-a-past...

The church is the place where I've experienced the most fairweather friends. It's where I have seen otherwise thoughtful, intelligent, and wise people completely shut their brains off for the sake of institutional reputation and cult of personality. It's where I've been ghosted the most.

This Sunday morning at City of Refuge, we'll be talking about the kingdom of God - what is it? when and where are we supposed to see it? and how should we live it out? The upside-down nature of Jesus' kingdom is one of our nine Guiding Principles that shape our community in Christlikeness.

Equity must precede diversity. Diversity without a commitment to equity will reveal itself to be a bought and cheap diversity. Slaveholding churches were thoroughly diverse and thoroughly inequitable. This is why the New Testament frequently treats the topic of diversity w/in the context of equity.

So in the Presbyterian Church in America, you can lose your job if you don't respond off the cuff in the way those in power want you to when someone publicly announces they are joining the Roman Catholic Church... But you get off scot free when you get caught stealing money from your church,

Resorting to violence - both of rhetoric and of action - is none other than an expression of cowardice. To be so full of ignoble fear that you believe your only choice is to cut down your opponents is a lack of courage. We can mourn the death of those we vehemently disagree with.

Is your church community a space where you are able to freely express strong emotions and reactions, such as anger, lament, complaints, despair, and fear? Or is there an expectation (unspoken or otherwise) to censor, hide, or limit your true feelings, or to cover it up with a spiritual bandaid?

Those of us who are following the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount and His care for justice for the poor and oppressed should prepare ourselves for being called "anti-American" by this administration for our convictions and lifestyle.

Today I gave a message on 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 on Healing from Shame in the Body of Christ. youtu.be/YXdzlu3VIFg?...

Let’s face it: Even if the second amendment was originally intended by our founders to mean that American citizens have the right to bear weapons that have the ability to kill and/or horrendously injure multiple people in quick succession timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/second-gre...

If ICE doesn't have the correct warrant, you have every right to tell them to get off private property. This includes sections of church buildings designated as private. No matter what, you can demand they identify themselves and which agency they are a part of. You can record them.

Yes, I watched KPop Demon Hunters. Yes, I enjoyed it. In fact, it made me think about a lot of existential things like shame, identity, and culture. Read my latest article here: timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/kpop-demon...

Admitting we are all antiheroes that need one another is the only way that the church can truly be the people of God. Whether you are Yelena, Alexei, Ava, John, Bucky, or Bob, there is no past and present that’s too catastrophic for other timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/antiheroes...

Here's the thing - there is now a whole market for all kinds of people to profit off of presenting themselves as a kind of expert on spiritual abuse. They write books and articles, speak on podcasts and at conferences, and even take time to talk one on one with victims. And they are nothing more

There are abusive church leaders who will read and post pictures of their underlined and highlighted copies of A Church Called Tov and When Narcissism Comes to Church, telling the world how much they are learning as leaders. These leaders will then make people think they are safe,

I'm about to finish two large writing and editing projects, so I've got some openings now for new ones! If you're interested, simply fill out my short project request form and then I'll get in touch with you! bit.ly/tisaiahcho

Just a reminder that "trusting God" and "having faith" includes trusting God to work through your antidepressant or having faith in God's promises for healing through a therapist or counselor.

"What is City of Refuge?" "What is your church community all about?" "Where do you meet?" Visit cityofrefugecolumbus.churchcenter.com or send a DM or email to [email protected]

I'm about to finish two large writing and editing projects, so I've got some openings now for new ones! If you're interested, simply fill out my short project request form and then I'll get in touch with you! bit.ly/tisaiahcho

Christians are called to a higher law, the law of love. Any and all laws of the land are temporal and cannot undo or give us excuses to ignore the requirements of God’s law of love. No matter what the immigration laws may be in the U.S., we absolutely must obey Jesus’ requirements to love

Today at City of Refuge, we talked about what it means to be Jesus' hands and feet to the communities around us. That included learning about how American Christians have been discipled into the "spirituality of the church" (which places a false youtu.be/-HVFqspeDZ4?...

This Sunday, we are going to be discussing what the purpose of the church is and what it means to be Jesus' hands and feet in the world. This will be the third message in the Our Guiding Principles series, where we have been talking about the core communal practices of City of Refuge.

Churches, are you ready to take on the fallout when the inhumane bill comes into effect? The people who will lose health insurance, access to life saving services, and so on - they are our responsibility, whether you like it or not. Those are the people that Jesus will identify with when He

Empathy is only a sin to those who see power as a virtue.

Every Sunday at 10am Eastern, City of Refuge gathers on Zoom for community and worship. We have people from multiple states (and multiple countries!) represented, and we'd love to have you too! Send me a DM or email [email protected] for more info!

One does not have to look too far to find Evangelical responses to the growing visibility of trans and nonbinary people in the U.S. The problem, many Evangelicals believe, is that society has jettisoned strict boundaries between timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/its-time-t...

The Bible is a mega-narrative of immigration. Sin drove humanity from their original home in Eden. God calls Abraham away from his homeland as a sojourner. Israel migrates to the Promised Land. Israel is called to have compassion for sojourners. Israel is exiled and lives in a country not their own

Pastor - you aren't David. David wasn't a pastor. God never made a covenant with you and your offspring. Stop using him as an example for restoration to ministry.

At City of Refuge this morning, I had a chance to share a message on the important topic of discipleship, which is one of our community's Guiding Principles. It's about 18 minutes long (I always shoot for 20 minutes or less), so it's a fairly quick watch. youtu.be/UsZFgTofEyM

In The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith, authors Hagberg and Guelich offer a 6 stage model of faith journeys to understand and map growth in the Christian life. timothyisaiahcho.substack.com/p/hitting-th...

Churches are exempt from 990 filing requirements with the IRS, but they should be willing to be even more transparent than a 990, especially with their congregants. Congregants should be able to know whether their offerings are being stewarded wisely and faithfully and see what the church's

Personal connection is where transformation happens. That's why our Gathering & Worship Zoom services are designed to be interactive and to foster rich discussion and fellowship. Join us this Sunday (and every Sunday!) at 10am Eastern on Zoom. And if you're local to Columbus, Ohio, we also

The Aquila Report picked up the story about Rev. James Kessler's public scandal and the Columbus Metro Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America's (PCA) unlawful dissolution of our former church. @christianitytoday.com @liamsadams.bsky.social theaquilareport.com/protecting-t...

And now for some humor. Read this article that gives some other details about the Chappell post-it. You'll be sure that it'll never give you up or let you down. Or run around. And desert you. manycourtsonejudge.substack.com/p/doctrinall...

It’s always fascinating to me when “Romans 13,” “rule of law,” “following the law,” “submitting to authorities,” and other similar phrases are thrown out by Christians. Nearly every time they pop up, you can be sure that it’s never about submitting to authorities that want to implement

When it comes to lies, we should ask "Who benefits?" rather than "was it intentional?" By getting past the "was it intentional?" debate, we actually create a space where “good people” can do really bad things and then try to protect themselves. We are able to have a category for liars

Churches will have to do more than say they are pro-immigrants. We must be willing to materially invest in the lives of immigrants and their communities whose livelihoods are impacted by this administration. We must be ready to resist and even put themselves in harm's way when the state

I wanted to take a moment to help provide a more nuanced understanding of Calvinism (and I’d argue, a more historically accurate understanding) to address both misunderstandings and caricatures that have been brought forth by both non-Calvinists and self-identifying Calvinists alike.

In John 9, a blind man's healing by Jesus ends up bringing about his excommunication by the religious authorities (vs. 34). Jesus then goes out to find the excommunicated man outside of "the church" to reveal His true identity as the Son of Man (vs. 35-38). In doing so, Jesus also condemns the

Evangelicals are floundering on how they respond to anti-immigrant sentiments within their own churches. While a recent study shows that a majority of Evangelicals are pro-Immigrant(ish), that doesn't mean that they are anti-anti-immigrant. open.substack.com/pub/timothyi...

Here's the recording for whoever is interested! youtu.be/-K-iRbh2AlM?...

If you want to know more about City of Refuge, this Sunday we'll be starting a series on our 9 Guiding Principles. We'll be talking about the first guiding principle: Jesus’ Great Commission and Greatest Commandment are two sides of the same coin. We love the Lord by loving our neighbors.

You've heard it, I've heard it: "No real Evangelical" or "No real Christian" would support Donald Trump. Not only is that factually untrue, not only is it also a logical fallacy called the "No true Scotsman," but it is truly just a way to dodge responsibility for keeping your peeps accountable.

How you treat and think of immigrants is how you would treat and think of Jesus.

It's that time again! Our book club is going through our next book starting on 5/15, and we'd love to have you join us! We'll be reading and discussing Dr. Amy Kenny's "My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church." We'll meet every other Thursday at 7pm Eastern on Zoom.

Fixed it for you.

Here's the Easter message I gave today at City of Refuge. We looked into the "nonsense" of the resurrection and why it's actually good news. youtu.be/jeD-L_Ntepw

Join us for Easter Sunday at 10am Eastern on Zoom! Send an email or send a DM and we'll get the Zoom link and worship folder to you.