Nate Severson

Husband to a smokin' blonde from Alabama, father to four rock star kids, Pastor at Hillcrest Covenant Church

[OptaSTATS @OptaSTATS]

Ayo Dosunmu of the @Timberwolves is the first player in NBA history with:

40+ points
75% FG shooting
5+ threes without a miss
10+ FT without a miss

...in any game (regular season or playoffs, off the bench or not).

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

I share this post in earnest and (what may prove a naive) hope that a few people caught in the situation I’m about to describe will hear instead of rushing to the usual tropes, criticisms and caricatures. For what it’s worth, I offer this in good faith.

Between 2016 and 2022, I faced a test of the genuineness of my faith so large and consequential, I’m almost at a loss to think of the right adjectives to describe it. It might not have been so big to someone else but it involved so much of my Christian identity, it was all but existential. Well more than that. It was a dying.

It is this test that helps me understand why people who seem deeply devoted to the Lord Jesus and hold the scriptures in highest esteem also hold to a system, institution or leader no matter what they do and defend a side or individual to a degree that is baffling.

I can tell you why because I had to face every bit of it. Identity, community, camaraderie, what we’ve known and loved, what part of it we still love, the people we loved, the people we still love, reputation, what people will think, how you will be judged and condemned and thrown over to the other side who doesn’t want you either. And to whom you also do not align and would not belong. Friendships. How you will be misunderstood and misrepresented. How adrift and alone you will feel. How disliked.

And then there’s this and it would be a mistake to minimize it: your JOB. Your source of income. Your vocation.

This is the part of the crisis I most write these words to convey because I think they are most in play for many right now, whether in media, ministry or politics.

Let me try to put this in the words that were constantly resonant in my spirit in those years. And to this day.

Though you have no other place to go, Beth, and no place to fit and it not only MAY have financial repercussions but WILL have financial repercussions to the ministry and to your family and will also make them targets and none of it will ever look the same or be the same, will you choose what you believe to be right and put everything else in your vocational life at risk?

This is what is at risk for many people whose professional reputations and positions are tied up with leaders, institutions and political parties. Mine was, too. The cost is enormous and the options are often untenable. And so there we are.

Having to cast ourselves on the mercy of God. Not for a third way. But as THE ONLY WAY. The only truth. The only life.

I’ve made multiple errors in judgment. Jumped too quickly to condemn. Spoken wrongly. Remained silent wrongly and confusingly. I never get it completely together.

But what I will tell you is that I believe we are meant first and foremost to call out our own house, our own side, and our own identity group for its mind-boggling hypocrisy. These were my people. Evangelicals. Conservatives.

Claim what you will but I know who I am:

I am pro life from conception to casket.
I am pro small government.
I am pro godliness and the pursuit of a holy life.
I am pro marriage and family and pro-those God calls to remain single and sanctified and I’m deeply thankful for them.
I am pro traditional sexual ethics.
I am pro love of God and love of neighbor and the dignity of every person as an image bearer of Christ.
I am pro love all.
I am pro church. I believe in the community of the saints.
I am pro Bible study to the death and believe the aim of all discipleship is to know and love and follow and emulate Jesus Christ.
I am pro gospel. Dear God in heaven, I am pro gospel. I believe there is one name by whom we must be saved. Jesus.

What I am not is pro Trump.

Wasn’t pro Clinton. Wasn’t pro Biden. But those were not the candidates many in the world that I loved so much were cheering on.

I accept that Donald Trump is my president. I pray for him on a regular basis. I’m a law abiding citizen and pay my taxes. But I believe Trump fosters something in people that makes them lose their way.

[Phil Vischer @philvischer]

@WilliamWolfe “Who is my neighbor?”

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

@GopherHole Crazy that the announcers didn’t even mention it.

[Paul Putz @p_emory]

This is wild. Indiana has 8 starters who did not have any stars coming out of high school, and they have only two 4-stars in their starting lineup (no 5-stars).

Ohio State has only two starters *below* a 4 star (both 3 stars), and ten top 100 recruits!

https://t.co/6eHOfgP0GW

[Dr. Derwin L. Gray @DerwinLGray]

Somali people are made in God’s image, which means they carry unshakable dignity and worth. When you reduce people to a label, you shrink your ability to love them.

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

Never knew I could love a Patriot so much…well done my friend! #standing

[TreVeyon Henderson @TreVeyonH4]

Will you stand with them? 🙏🏽 #MyCauseMyCleats

[Rich Villodas @richvillodas]

The greatest enemy to the witness of the Church is not atheism but a version of Christian faith that “believes” in Jesus but doesn’t follow him.

[stephen altrogge @stephenaltrogge]

If your pastor doesn’t mention Robert Redford on Sunday it’s time to find a new church

[Dr. Derwin L. Gray @DerwinLGray]

Your social media algorithm will only show you things that you like. So please be careful not to allow your algorithm to place you in a echo chamber of ignorance.

[Dr. Derwin L. Gray @DerwinLGray]

Respectfully, as a pastor-theologian, using Isaiah 6:8 in this context is blasphemy! Delete this immediately. This is an abuse of Bible.

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

@adampaulcooper Stick to horse racing :)

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

@PDWolves His defense looks very D Lo-like

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

“To change the world we must be good to those who cannot repay us.” Pope Francis

[Parkway Pizza @ParkwayPizzaNE]

Isaiah Stewart has been banned from Parkway Pizza.

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

@PhilMackey Scratch another one off the list :)

[Bread for the World @bread4theworld]

U.S. foreign aid = global strength 🇺🇸. By providing less than 1% of its budget, the United States:

🕊️ Helps prevent wars
🤝 Builds peace & stability
🙏 Reduces hunger & poverty
🛡️ Prevents global medical threats
🌟 Boosts U.S. global influence & national security

Cuts to aid weaken America. Tell the administration and Congress: Support & fund foreign aid!

#EndHunger #ActForJustice #BreadForTheWorld

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

Lord have mercy

[Matthew Soerens @MatthewSoerens]

At @WorldRelief, we've been warning since before the election that if the president followed through on his commitment to suspend refugee resettlement, persecuted Christians would be among those shut out https://t.co/4FBR4SNUkl

That's now happened. Here's one heartbreaking case

[Nate Severson @nateseverson]

Eagles have done an incredible job of building their team through the draft but could you imagine how good they would be if they would have drafted @JJettas2 ? Thankful they passed on him! #nfl

[Rich Villodas @richvillodas]

2,000 years after it was first asked, the question, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) is one of the simplest ways to assess the degree to which we take the teachings of Jesus seriously.