• The Wrap: February ’19

    Things have been busy. Finishing up school (t-minus gulp 12 days) has led to a whole bunch of cliff-jumping and mostly coming out unscathed. A few exciting updates are in the works but hopefully my impending free time will led to more content. For now, jump in and explore the original Coates and a couple of high…

  • Letters to Self

    In an AP Language & Composition class, a sixteen year old sits huddled at a desk, green pen and lined paper in hand. That morning, a teacher who cares about more than report cards and curriculum drops off five-year old letters in the mailbox. It’s a project she has them do, her students, to engage…

  • The Wrap: January ’19

    I’m on the hunt for jobs (hire me! I post Christmas pictures in February and forget to post the Wrap for an entire quarter), leases and subleases, and, currently, some kind of working phone. Somehow, through all of that, I’ve read a few books and seen a few shows. I have a lot of posts…

  • Trust Falls with Strangers

    What is a leap of faith? And what is it not?

  • #TTWBATS EP Review

    The boys behind Tenth Avenue North have been busy. In May, lifelong drummer Jason Jamison stepped down to pursue a career with the band’s ministry partner Compassion International. In June, frontman Mike Donehey announced the band had launched a record label called ReMade Records (no doubt a nod to their song You Are More off their…

  • The Wrap: September 2018

    I’ve been back at school for a week (yes, I know, it’s soooo late, but just remember we do the same three and a half months of work; we just do it in 10 weeks) and I’m already drowning. Before I got too into conferences, homework, and work, I was able to sneak in a…

  • Couch Churches: Confronting Trauma, Friendship, and Tomorrow

    Part Three: The Couch My thoughts drift again to communion, and then to worship, the kind that brings you to your knees and throws your arms in the air without prompting. The kind of worship that leads you to speak in tongues. The kind that makes a fool out of you. The kind of childhood.…

  • Couch Churches: Confronting Trauma, Friendship, and Tomorrow

    Part Two: Buildings and Bodies Sitting on a couch, legs tucked under me and sipping on milk and kahlúa, I’m thinking about holy communion. I’m thinking about it so much I move towards interrupting my friend to ask if he has any salted crackers downstairs, and a bit of wine to rinse. But I don’t.…

  • Couch Churches: Confronting Trauma, Friendship, and Tomorrow

    Part One: Trauma I have a complicated relationship with church, both as a building and as a body. As the son of a church worker, I suppose some of that is to be expected. Long days spent at the church instead of daycare, hearing typical workplace drama about your pastoral staff, and the like make…

  • United Hate of America

    In the first of the “United Hate of America” series, Bryce examines the 1880’s Chinese Exclusion Act.