There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river...
We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in
- Desmond Tutu
I’m a Baptist minister, a violence prevention consultant, and a follower of Jesus who doesn’t do well with boxes — especially the neat, quiet ones the Church sometimes prefers.
I believe faith should mess with us.
It should challenge our comfort, confront our apathy, and show up in the places we’d rather avoid. That’s where I’ve seen Jesus most. Not in hype or hierarchy, but in honest questions, hard conversations, and small acts of courage.
This space is where I think out loud. About scripture. Justice. Power. Pain. Healing. It’s not curated for clicks. It’s carved out for people trying to live faithfully in a messy world.
I’m not here to pretend I have it all together. I’m here to stay curious, stay faithful, and maybe annoy a few systems in the process.
This is who I am
My camera helps me pay attention — and sometimes that feels like prayer.
My dog Jez teaches me more about spirituality than most books.
I’ve finally accepted that God made me annoying for a reason. Seeking justice tends to bother people. 🤷🏽♂️
Why I Irritate
I didn’t grow up surrounded by faith or certainty. I grew up with shame I couldn’t name, questions I didn’t know how to ask, and a quiet ache to be known. I wasn’t loud or reckless. I was the one who kept things together. Kind, dependable. Quietly breaking underneath it all.
Fear taught me to hide. Grace taught me to stop pretending.
It wasn’t ‘academic study’ that changed me. It was Jesus. Not the sanitised version. The Jesus who flips tables, confronts injustice, restores dignity, and refuses to let the hurting carry what was never theirs to hold.
That Jesus changed everything.
Since then I’ve tried to follow him in real places. Mentoring young people caught up in violence. Walking with churches through discomfort. Creating room for others to speak what they’ve been told to keep quiet. The Godly Irritant grew out of that tension. A space to say the hard things, ask better questions, and build a faith that actually transforms lives.
I write because I need to. I challenge because I love the Church and community too much to let them settle. I speak up because silence often protects the wrong things.
Silence often protects the wrong things.
I’m not here to perform or pretend. I’m here to provoke what needs confronting and help grow a faith that can hold up in real life. Not just survive it, but carry us through it with courage and conviction.
Want to go deeper?
Read Letters to My Younger Self or reach out if you’d like to collaborate.