Hi, I’m David Lindner.

I’m a pastor, teacher, musician, songwriter, writer, husband, dad, occasional podcaster, recovering overthinker, and a person who has apparently decided that one vocation at a time would be far too reasonable.

Most of what I do revolves around one basic question:

How do we become more like Jesus in the middle of actual life?

Not theoretical life. Not internet life. Not the carefully curated version of ourselves we present to people who already agree with us.

Actual life.

Life with neighbors who vote differently than we do. Churches full of imperfect people. Teenagers trying to figure out who they are. Families trying to hold together. Communities divided by politics and suspicion. People carrying grief, fear, doubt, anger, hope, and questions they’re sometimes afraid to ask.

And, occasionally, life with hand dryers that cannot be trusted.

Faith

I’m the pastor of SixEight Church in Battle Ground, Washington.

The name comes from Micah 6:8:

“To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Those three ideas have increasingly become a framework for how I understand the Christian life.

I grew up in a conservative Christian tradition, studied Bible and theology at Multnomah University, and have spent much of my adult life teaching, preaching, studying, questioning, reconsidering, and trying to follow Jesus more faithfully.

I still believe deeply in the historic Christian faith. I also believe Christians should be among the least afraid people in society—unafraid of questions, evidence, disagreement, outsiders, cultural change, or people who see the world differently than we do.

Jesus did not call us to win every argument.

He called us to follow him.

That means learning to love our enemies, tell the truth, defend the vulnerable, resist the temptation of power, forgive people, carry one another’s burdens, welcome strangers, pursue justice, practice mercy, and become the kinds of people who actually live what we say we believe.

I’m particularly interested in recovering Christianity as a way of life, not merely a collection of beliefs.

Knowing the right answer is not the same as becoming the right kind of person.

Music

Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I studied music theory and composition, write and arrange music, teach choir, and release instrumental music under David Lindner and Christian music under David Daniel Lindner.

I love creating music that gives people room to breathe.

Sometimes that means peaceful piano arrangements of worship songs. Sometimes it means writing songs about fear, hope, doubt, faith, or the things Christians sometimes have difficulty saying out loud.

Music has always seemed capable of getting into places words alone cannot reach.

So I keep writing it.

Teaching

I also teach high school choir and serve as the advisor and coach for the school’s drama club.

Working with students has convinced me that one of the most meaningful things any adult can do is help young people discover who they are becoming.

Of course, working with teenagers also means discovering that whatever coolness you once possessed has officially expired. Including using words like cool and awesome.

But I love watching students find their voice, take risks, create something together, fail safely, try again, and realize they are capable of more than they thought.

I believe people change when they are surrounded by a supportive community and a supportive environment.

That applies to classrooms.

It applies to churches.

It applies to life.

Writing, Culture, and the Public Square

This blog is where a lot of those worlds collide.

I write about theology, church, politics, culture, education, music, technology, community, leadership, and occasionally things that irritate me for reasons completely disproportionate to their importance.

I’m especially interested in what happens when faith enters the public square.

I live in a politically divided community, and I’ve become increasingly convinced that Christians should be able to participate in civic life without treating our neighbors as enemies.

I care about religious freedom.

I care about public schools.

I care about equal citizenship.

I care about truth.

I care about people who disagree with me being treated with dignity and respect.

And I care about resisting the increasingly popular idea that political power can accomplish what Jesus told his church to accomplish through love, service, sacrifice, truth, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

I’m interested in whether something is true, just, merciful, and Christlike rather than whether it helps my political team.

I think we desperately need places where people can think carefully without immediately being sorted into opposing camps.

Why I Write

I write because I think ideas matter.

The stories we believe shape the people we become.

The voices surrounding us shape what we fear, what we love, whom we trust, whom we despise, and what we imagine is possible.

And we live in a world where algorithms are extremely good at keeping us angry, afraid, distracted, and certain that everyone on the other side has lost their minds.

I would like to contribute something different.

I want to ask better questions.

I want to challenge bad arguments, including the ones made by people on my own side, whatever that is.

I want to recover old wisdom.

I want to make complicated ideas understandable.

I want to help Christians become more like Christ.

I want to help divided neighbors remember that they are still neighbors.

And every once in a while, I want to spend an unreasonable amount of time explaining why resealable packaging has gotten completely out of hand.

So that’s what you’ll find here.

Faith.

Feeble attempts at humor.

Music.

Culture.

Storytelling.

Community.

Questions.

Ideas.

Probably too many words. (Not probably, definitely)

And the ongoing attempt of one person to follow Jesus, love his neighbors, make beautiful things, tell the truth, and leave the world a little better than he found it.