Evan Wickham

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him is no darkness whatsoever!" - the disciple who knew he was loved. #confidence #security #identity #love

@JohnKolb2 @philvischer @WilliamWolfe @grok what is the "tu quoque"/whataboutism fallacy?

@philvischer @WilliamWolfe Wait till you learn what the First Nations people did to each other!

I simply refuse to accept the idea that every other people group on planet earth are allowed to have a country to call home except for native Americans

Two things. One: pregnancy isn't donation. Donation gives something out of your body. Pregnancy is a body already sustaining a life through its normal function. Abortion stops that function actively, not passively. Two: even if we accept the donation analogy, the law not forcing organ donation isn't a moral verdict, it's a limit on what the state enforces. A father who lets his daughter die rather than give blood is legally fine and morally indefensible. "Not legally required" ≠ "ethically permitted."

@evanwickham @ethandabest876 @NataniaMarshall Parents can be required to provide care. They still cannot be legally forced to donate blood, organs, or bodily functions — even to their own children. That’s the difference you keep skipping over.

A consent to sex is consent to pregnancy.

"Push" was shorthand for causing the dependency. Swap in "car accident," same argument. And organ donation is the wrong parallel: strangers owe each other nothing, but parents owe their kids food, shelter, rescue from danger. The question isn't whether bodily costs ever create duties. It's whether parenthood does. We already agree it does... at every other stage of a child's life.

If you push someone inti a lake I highly doubt you're going in after that as you've already decided to murder them. So how about this: if you get into an accident and the other person suffers bodily harm you're under no obligation to donate your blood or organs to save their life.

Bodily autonomy doesn't override a duty of care you created. If I push someone in a lake, "my body, my choice" doesn't free me from pulling them out. Even if rescue is hard. Even if my life jacket fails. Voluntary action with foreseeable risk creates obligation. (Rape is a separate question we can handle separately without pretending the 99% of cases work like the 1%.)

@ethandabest876 @NataniaMarshall There exists no righ to life at the expense of someone else's body.

I've become such a Padres fan it's crazy.

@Sean_McDowell Yes, especially the second half of same verse: "... and do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it." (Isaiah 8:12b)

QUESTION: What biblical verse/passage is most relevant and timely for today? This one is near the top of my list: "Do not call everything a conspiracy that these people say is a conspiracy" (Isaiah 8:12). What say you?

Deeply moved by this prayer this morning. Especially: “I heard your voice calling after me, beckoning me to return to you, but I could scarcely hear you over the clamor of those who hate peace.” open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…

This is so very helpful and needs to be better understood by so many. For sake of Christian unity and biblical literacy. open.substack.com/pub/michaelfbi…

Today I preached a sermon about walking in porneia versus walking in the light. Afterwards, as I led the church in communion, this prayer came to me. I prayed it aloud: “Lord Jesus, may our souls become so full from consuming your body that we no longer desire to consume the bodies of anyone else.” This is my prayer for myself and my family for the rest of my life.

(FULL ESSAY) open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…

Gregorio Luis Hernandez. We all called him Poppy. At 92 years old, he had a good run. You know the scene: fresh cut flowers, black dresses, folding chairs, cigarettes and teary mascara. And in this case, a mariachi band strumming Poppy’s top 40. I was asked to pluck the melody of Solamente Una Vez as the pallbearers carried the casket from the chapel to its lowering device. In moments like these, certain questions surface hard. Where is he? Is he anywhere? Is Poppy in the ground, 6 feet under? Or is he in a place “somewhere else” called “heaven?” If so, what does that say about Poppy’s humanity? What does that say about mine? Am I a body, and no more… just flesh and blood and chemical processes? Or am I really just a soul in a body. And if so, what on earth is a soul? As for Poppy, what did death actually do to him? And what does he have to look forward to? The answer most Christians (and Christianized Westerners) reach for: He’s in heaven. His soul is with God. He’s at peace. Which sounds right. Mostly right.

Can Christians Be Demon Possessed? This is question #8 from this Top 10 series I’ve been working on for months. I removed a story or two from this post because the events are still fresh and being fleshed out in real time. But I still share some, along with what I believe is the right way to think about the unseen realm, via Bible. I know this for sure: God wants his children to be well-versed in dealing with satan. And he fights dirty.

The night started normally enough. My wife Sandy and I were asleep in bed, early in the days of planting Park Hill Church. I was drifting from deep sleep into that liminal space where the body is heavy but the mind is strangely aware of its surroundings. That’s when I felt it. Fear. Not the normal kind. This was thick and atmospheric like a pressure in the room concentrated on my chest. Body immobile, eyes open, fixed on the ceiling. A large, dark shape descending toward me. The closer it came, the thicker the fear. I couldn’t call out to God or my wife. I could only watch. So far, standard fare. Sleep paralysis is common enough. But what happened next… (read on) open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…

This song was written by five people from different streams of Christianity. Catholic. Protestant. Anglican. Evangelical. That unity is what this final entry in this devotional is about, wrote to accompany Christ the King of Love. open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…

My new single Christ the King of Love released Friday. I wrote this three-day devotional to go with it. One day at a time, for Holy Week. Starting Palm Sunday. Here's Day 1. open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…

I LOVE how this video turned out. Christ the King of Love – out now! I wrote it with Matt Redman (Anglican), Tom Booth (Catholic), Mark Desmond (evangelical), Andrew Laubacher (Catholic). Just in time for Holy Week. Enjoy! youtube.com/watch?v=5fRXZE…

Recently hung out with a Canadian Catholic priest. We were on a trip together. Me: “I’ve been curious how Catholic I can be while pastoring a nondenominational church?” Him: “Why?” Me: “I love the whole Church so much. I want to live into unity.” Him: “Aren’t you doing that already?” Me: “Yea but…” Him: “Hey, rest easy. We think we see many churches. But Jesus sees everything, and He only sees one.”

The Christian West has been at war with the Muslim world in one form or another for over a thousand years. The Crusades. Then European colonialism carving up the Middle East. Then decades of American military intervention. Through all of it, Francis stands among our great cloud of witnesses, largely ignored, holding out a different way. The Enemy loves what’s happening, titillated by the fever pitch of human-on-human hostility. And I wonder if he loves the prophetic timelines too… believers doing the math on Ezekiel 38 while thousands of Iranians buried in rubble are chalked up to a checkbox on a chart. Because as long as we’re looking up at the Rapture Ready Index™, we’re not looking across the line at the face of our neighbor. open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…

If you’re paying attention through this three-part series, I probably know what you’re thinking: How do we know it’s actually Him? What if it’s just my wishful thinking, my dad’s voice from childhood, pop culture, political bias, or even a demon? I offer three discernment tests I’ve found helpful: First: Does it line up with Scripture? God won't inspire you to sleep with someone you're not married to. “Ah but we prayed and God gave us peace about it.” Nope. Pretty sure the Scriptures still have something to say here. God will never tell you to cheat on your taxes. Or to stop being generous. Or to leave your spouse because you’ve “fallen out of love.” Why? Because these things directly conflict with the story of Scripture and the teachings of Jesus. This is why biblical literacy is so important. A rich understanding of Scripture becomes a litmus test for what we think might be God’s voice. Without a firm grasp on the narrative of the scriptures, it will be very difficult to recognize when something contradicts it. Second... [Read Full Essay] open.substack.com/pub/evanwickha…