Why the modern church expression is a barrier to the church in the world. — Over the years, I have found many people that say they agree with a certain concept, but when it comes down to how it is lived out, most often their actions do not align with their words. The premise is this: Church is not a place. …

Jesus’ followers are called to be in the world, but not of the world. When followers of Jesus retract from the world, they are modeling a false picture of who God is in Jesus. Rather than standing far off because of the brokenness of the world, Jesus entered into the…

Coffee With Ryan is moving from Medium to Substack. Click below to follow now and make sure you don’t miss any future posts. I’ll also be rolling out a couple of new things in the near future, which will all be housed at the new site as well. (podcast???) https://ryanmayfield.substack.com/

An overdue explanation to those we love inside the institutional church. — It’s hard to know where to start, exactly. For those who know me closely, you already know that I’ve long had a general dissatisfaction with the institution of christianity in America, probably longer than we’ve known each other. Much of this is due to how I’ve seen Jesus move and…

“What church do you go to?” I get asked this question all the time. Depending on where you live, you might get asked this a lot as well. Honestly, I struggle to answer this question both honestly and compassionately, and without sounding pretentious or judgmental. The problem is that, biblically…

Originally published 3/18/20 “Religion is like staring at a rock and exerting all of your energy into making it into a rock: totally unnecessary.” I’ve never observed Lent. In fact, I’ve never really even been told what lent is. I think growing up, I thought maybe it was something only…

What if I told you that Jesus doesn’t care if you’re a Christian or not? — I was sitting in a cafe in the heart of Delhi, India. My friend and I were talking about life, relationships, faith, family, etc. He asked me what I believed about God, so I responded that I follow the teachings of Jesus. His response gave me pause. “Oh yeah, Jesus…

Religious people are worried people. We are worried about getting dirty. “Don’t hang out with the wrong crowd,” we say. “Bad company corrupts good morals.” We are so worried that rubbing elbows with sinners will cause us to become sinners (despite the fact that we already are), but I’ve never…

Have you ever so radically shifted your perspective on the world that it felt like the floor was falling out from under you? I remember exactly where I was in 2012 when a single statement from a friend made me feel this way. …