Belonging in the children’s church
A child wearing brown loafers and no socks (just like his father), reading a Bible in Sunday worship (just like his father) — What can this boy teach us about belonging?
More Stories from this Author
Love for Easter-only worshippers
How one pastor’s investment in a theology of belonging has liberated him from resentment.
The sparkle and shimmer
A child in cowgirl boots heralds the coming of Easter for Andrew Taylor-Troutman.
Night sky of tears
“Sadness can feel sky high. Yet, the Holy One, who stretched the heavens, walks with us.”
A top hat and tails
It can be tempting to harden our hearts as protection. What would life look like if we lived like daffodils blooming in late winter? Like a middle schooler wearing a top hat and tails to a dance?
Boogie with your shadow: A funeral epiphany
A poem by Andrew Taylor-Troutman.
Pretty ashes
Maybe our mortality can be beautiful, writes Andrew Taylor-Troutman.
Encountering the Holy Spirit: Asbury College and the Transfiguration
Reflecting on the revival happening at a Kentucky Christian school and Jesus' Transfiguration, Andrew Taylor-Troutman considers the Holy Spirit’s call to action.
Baby, baby — the blessing of being wholly attentive
Andrew Taylor-Troutman reflects on a week of learning with poet and essayist Ross Gay.
In praise of mischief
Andrew Taylor-Troutman, a father of two young boys, wonders if there is something sacred in mischief, even as it is sometimes annoying.
Parable of the school board president and the pastor
Andrew Taylor-Troutman shares a lesson he learned from a local school board president.
Making my kids go to church on Christmas morning
Pastor/parents are faced with a conundrum this year: do they force (or strongly encourage) their children to go to Sunday worship on Christmas? Andrew Taylor Troutman has decided yes, and here’s why.
Song of ascent
Andrew Taylor-Troutman remembers a friend who passed away, who taught him the connection between a song of ascent and Psalm 23.
Hope in a pocket — For the day after a national election
A poem about beginnings and endings, and finding hope in unexpected places.
The pregame prayer
In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming prayer in public schools, Andrew Taylor Troutman reflects on his high school baseball team’s pregame ritual of saying the Lord’s Prayer.
A shimmer in a fifth-grade hallway
In this back-to-school season, Rev. Andrew Taylor-Troutman shares a lesson he learned in fifth grade about the power of human connection.
What she builds
Andrew Taylor-Troutman, pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church, honors the work of the church's founding pastor Rev. Dr. Mindy Douglas.
The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries
Andrew Taylor-Troutman reviews Tom Montgomery Fate's new book.
Books we love: How Not to Be Afraid
Gareth Higgins’ new book helps Andrew Taylor-Troutman remember that the antidote to fear is “action rooted in hope.”
Big God, think little: a poem and reflection
The “environment” is not something separate from us, but we are intricacy and intimately part of it. What we do matters on a daily basis.
Let there be marshes
Inspired by Austen Hartke’s Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians
Notice resurrection
The Gospels record that Jesus chooses when he makes himself known after his resurrection. He is perceived as a gardener or a..
Where have all the sunflowers gone?
There were to be weddings. There were to be bouquets of dazzling sunflowers. More golden flowers were to be woven into the..
Quietly unfolding: A tribute to pastors
Novelist Marilynne Robinson wrote in appreciation of her pastor, “There is no way of reckoning the value good pastors bring to the..
Now or never
In Memory of Rev. Shannon O’Leary Tammy pounded her fist into her baseball glove: once, twice. The boys on the other side..