I haven’t left because I still feel like there’s a way to wrestle with it that isn’t just dogmatic… Radical grace, being inclusive, taking risks, speaking truth to oppression—these are things that matter. You don’t have to believe exactly the way you grew up believing. You don’t have to dismiss it altogether either. — Keith Long
What happens when a pastor begins doubting everything he’s supposed to teach—while still standing in the pulpit every Sunday?
Keith Long is a Lutheran pastor who has done something most clergy won’t: he’s been radically honest about his skepticism. In his book Doubting Faithfully: Confessions of a Skeptical Pastor, Keith explores what it looks like to lead a congregation while wrestling with profound questions about the resurrection, biblical literalism, and whether critical thinking has any place in institutional religion.
This isn’t your typical deconstruction story. Keith hasn’t left the church—he’s stayed to create space for doubt as a spiritual practice, treating questions not as threats but as invitations to deeper growth.
Keith and I sat down to talk. In this conversation, we explore:
- How his atheist friend Carl taught him more about grace than seminary ever did
- The “shock to the system” of unexplained infertility that shattered his cause-and-effect worldview
- Why he compares church to ancient Greek public discourse * His mystical encounter in Gettysburg (yes, really)
- The difference between “wandering” and burning everything down
- How Fourth Way inner work and contemplative Christianity can inform a life of sacred unknowing
If you’re a mystical misfit, a post-evangelical seeker, or someone who loves the Christian story but can’t do biblical literalism anymore, this conversation is for you!
Check out Keith’s website here.
Here’s my review of Keith’s excellent book, Doubting Faithfully.
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