Belonging
Believing in God won’t make everything in your life compute. Believing in God doesn’t mean that you’ll get everything that you want. Believing in God doesn’t mean that everyone in your life that has the ability to impact your wellbeing will make all the right choices. Believing in God also doesn’t ensure that you won’t experience horror, tragedy, and pain. It simply means that whatever is, God is, also. And if we live our lives according to that reality, things will start to get better.
Ryan Phipps is the Senior Minister at Church In Bethesda.
Raised in the church, becoming a pastor was the one thing Ryan vowed he would never do. After spending many years away from faith, he found that for all of its flaws, the church can still occupy a unique place of good in the world if it is willing to evolve with reason and empathy.
Ryan has a special place in his heart for those who have been damaged or disillusioned by the church, and longs to lead those within it toward a more just and generous expression of itself.