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Faith Should Be Free—Not Forced I’ve been a pastor for over two decades. I’ve preached in church buildings, coffee shops, living rooms,...

Justice Should Mean More Than Punishment One of the most powerful things I've learned in 25 years as a pastor is that people are more...

We Should Be Free to Feel Safe Every time there’s another mass shooting, we go through the same cycle. Shock. Grief. Anger. Then silence....

Freedom Means Everyone I’ve pastored churches where LGBTQ+ people were afraid to be fully seen. I’ve met teenagers kicked out of their...

Let People Make Their Own Decisions Abortion. Gender-affirming care. Personal medical choices. These are complicated issues. I get it....

The Freedom to Get Care For many years, my family got our health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. We were self-employed,...

Everyone Deserves a Place to Call Home In my work with a non-profit helping the homeless, I’ve spent time with people who’ve lost nearly...

No One Should Be Punished for Caring When our kids were little, Vanessa and I made a decision—we’d figure out a way for her to stay home...

A Promise We Have to Keep My grandfather died when my mom was just nine years old. That left my grandmother—Pauline Valentine—to raise...

I've Seen It Firsthand I’ve been to the U.S.-Mexico border several times. I’ve stood next to the wall. I’ve walked through migrant...

Work Shouldn’t Break You My first job was as a paperboy. I rode my bike through the neighborhood each afternoon, tossing newspapers onto...

This Is the Only Earth We Get I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio—less than a mile from the shores of Lake Erie. Every summer, we’d head down to...

Who Gets Heard? When I first ran for Congress in 2018, I made a big decision: I wouldn’t take any corporate PAC money. People told me I...

Telling the Truth Shouldn’t Be Brave I remember the first time I stood behind a pulpit as a pastor. I was nervous. Not because I didn’t...

Preserving What We Share One of my earliest memories is going with my mom to vote. Back then, voting booths had these big, heavy...