About
Welcome to the Bridge
An encounter with Christianity should inspire. For that to happen, we need to have an expansive view of a loving God.
The problem is, many Christian leaders have a knack for making God seem petty and small which leaves us feeling disillusioned. It shouldn’t be so hard to find the love in a faith based on the teachings of Jesus.
I understand how frustrating it is to feel such a visceral disconnect between Jesus and the church. I've spent a lifetime trying to understand it. I spent years studying the Bible and theology while listening closely to our culture as I bounced back and forth between ministry and the professional arts. I’ve experienced many different Christian traditions and communities, but I’ve also spent years living far from their orbit. That’s given me a perspective to help bridge an understanding between the church and a world which is baffled by it.
At the end of the day, when you read these blogs, ask God for help to confirm what’s true. If the story behind Christianity is true, there’s a loving God standing by to help you sort it out.
Here’s the path we'll follow as we meet on the bridge to find a better view:
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Confession - We’re going to confess where the church has gone astray.
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Redemption - We’ll look to Jesus to help us recover what was lost along the way.
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Confession - We’ll celebrate an inspiring, expansive view of a loving God.
Why two confessions? In Christianity, that word has a wonderful double-meaning. One side of the coin is the confession of what’s wrong. The other is celebrating what God has done to turn it around.
So, follow our blog to get regular updates on new content. If you find inspiration, please share it with others.
Many of us have untended wounds from encounters with the Christian faith. This bridge is here to help you find healing and reasons to believe that we are loved by God far more than we ever imagined.
About the Author
Confessions from the Bridge was created for one purpose, to help both the Christian and the curious who feel something has gone wrong in the American church to understand why and to reclaim the great big, expansive story of a loving God.
In other words, I got real tired of people who tell stories about Christianity with both their actions and words that make Jesus seem petty and small. If you're a skeptic of religion but a fan of Jesus, you're probably in the right place.
The thoughts shared here come from years of in-depth study in Christian theology and decades of listening closely to the conversation between culture and the church. The content here is meant to be a literal bridge of conversation and healing between those two worlds.
What Kind of Christian Are You?
One of the first things people will ask in a blog like this is "What do you believe?" I could best be described as a non-denominational Protestant who holds a deep respect for all Christian traditions with eyes wide open to their strengths and weaknesses. I follow the Christian motto, "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity." In other words, there's a core set of Christian beliefs found in the ancient creeds that cut through division and unite all orthodox Christian traditions, and that's where I land, right here in the Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting. Amen
But perhaps most importantly, I believe this...
For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love
of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)
I believe Christianity is defined by the actions of the father in the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 when the father does not wait, but runs towards his wayward son. Christianity is the story of a God who will stop at nothing to make sure that all of us know how deeply we are loved. Period.
If you're looking for another clue, I'm a big fan of Brennan Manning's writings. Check him out. He's a way better writer than I am. The Ragamuffin Gospel or Abba's Child are great places to start.
You won't find any tinfoil hat conspiracy theories here about the end times or creationism. You won't find allegiance to a political party over Jesus himself, and if I continue to do this right, you'll find a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community. There's a few more clues to where I'm coming from.
You will find responsible writing that's accountable to the textual and historical context of the biblical texts and is backed by years of study and consideration of multiple viewpoints in the Christian dialogue that's gone on for a few thousand years now.
But for now, that's all I'm going to offer because I don't want the details here to be a distraction. Read on, but most of all I invite you to pray, because if the story I'm writing about here is true, there's a loving God ready and waiting to help you confirm or deny what's in these blogs for yourself.
Blessings to You on Your Journey,
Aiden Hill
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