I do a lot of calling out the Church on here, and I tell y'all all the time it's because I love her and fight for her (frankly, if some folks would quit being messy, I could stop calling out nonsense). But today I wanna share some reasons I love The Church.

1) from the beginning, The Church has taught me a new way to see family. I grew up in an immigrant church and we spent every holiday at church. It was our subsititue family - my "aunts" and "uncles" are church friends. They were heavily involved in our lives. 1/

When my parents' marriage was failing, it was my church that stepped in and provided support. Men met with my dad, women with my mom, my pastor with both. Their circle of church friends knew, but treated them normal in social spaces - no judgement. They saved us. 2/

And when I came to know Jesus, my pastor made me part of his family. I spent weekends at his house, watching his kids, mowing his lawn, talking about faith, sexuality, depression. I still make chicken wings the way he taught me. I learned how to write sermons from him - 3/

Late nights at his kitchen table, finalizing his sermon, helping him think of illustrations. He's the reason I'm in ministry. He believed bigger things for me than I did for myself - and he put his time, money, and family on the line. 4/

2) The church is a bastion of mentoring in a world that has lost those healthy relationships. Don't get me wrong, we need care and oversight with who spends time w our kids. But the adults of my church modeled so much of life for me, talked w me when my parents couldn't. 5/

My first small group leader was a woman my mom's age, and after I shared about my depression in our 7th grade small group, she sought me out in church every sunday to pray with me. She sometimes called me during the week to check in. She's my hero. 6/

I experienced a lot of dark thoughts in that season, and she was the first person to teach me that God loved me. It was powerful because it was shown in her love. I'm certain that this intervention saved me from taking my life. 7/

3) Purpose. Y'all, I was a punk kid, depressed and angry and dead set on doing nothing. I didn't know a thing about the Bible, and for as long as I can remember I had adults telling me my life had purpose and hope. 8/

They made me a student leader when I had been following Jesus for literally a week. They told me God delighted in me and wanted to use me - and risked the youth programming on me. I led small groups, preached sermons, and organized 300-person youth rallies before I was 18. 9/

They believed in us. I saw guys and girls sharing the gospel because adults just believed, and insisted, they could. I saw young women use gifts in powerful ways, make deep life-impact at 16 yrs old, because adults insisted they had purpose. 10/

4) back on that family kick - i'm an only child legally, but I have 6 brothers i'd die for, 3 households I have a key to, and a stocking with my name on it at my pastor's house every Christmas (its got a cute snowman in a hammock). 11/

These folks have put their money where their mouth is. One of my chosen households paid my immigration fees (several hundred dollars) and co-signed the loan for my car. No one has fought for me like them. 12/

5) Laughter. I associate church with laughter. So much of my church memories are joy-filled, raucous, belly laughs. There's something special to me of a joyous laughter that requires no drunkenness, just a community that enjoys each other. 13/

There's more I can say, but I want to make clear that I recognize this is not everyone's experience, and that many of us have been harmed by churches. I have, too. But the Church can be so beautiful, and I'm going to keep fighting until we all have beautiful stories to tell.