Monday, July 27, 2026 Happy Monday, my friends! Last week clergy from throughout the United States and beyond gathered in Charlotte, NC, for The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries’ (TFAM) 2026 Leadership Conference. Though I had registered as soon as tickets were available, by April I knew that I wasn’t going to be in the financial position to make the trip (airfare, lodging, food, etc. add up quickly!). While friends assured me I could have been more creative about funding the trip, I made...

Monday, July 20, 2026 Happy Monday, my friends! Following a recent conversation with an acquaintance, he leaned in and said, “Ben, I think your problem is you’re a narcissist.” I tried hard to hear that criticism and tried to understand it and the context in which this person was basing his nonclinical judgment. My first reaction was to be defensive, but then I started to look into clinical definitions of narcissism which sent me down a rabbit hole of considering many of my actions and...

Monday, July 13, 2026 Happy Monday, my friends! Now that we’re a few weeks from Pride Month we can reflect on the ups, the downs, and the weird. We can consider what we saw, we heard, and what might have caught us unawares. One of the dynamics I love about the Queer community is our ability, collectively, to find new and to show up at Pride parades and festivals, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t find myself judging the people, outfits, and general tenor of some of the individuals who show...