Sara Billups
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Seattle-based author of NERVOUS SYSTEMS (2025) & ORPHANED BELIEVERS (2023) from @ReadBakerBooks | Bylines: @nytimes @CTmagazine
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Articles by Sara Billups
đ Nervous Systems: Rest & Reset
When anxiety threatens to tighten like a vine around my chest, when I forget to breathe as my thoughts sprint like theyâre trying to outrun peace itself, I turn to breath prayer. Breath prayer is one of the oldest and simplest ways of praying. A breath prayer is a connection point to God that you can borrow when life feels too heavy to carry. Itâs a practice you can take anywhere and turn to anytime. Breathe in a few words that ground you in Godâs truth.
Our Weary World Needs a Sigh of Relief
David Zahl explores the underappreciated power of God's grace to lift our earthly burdens. In the early 1980s, when Bob Dylan embraced Gospel music shaped by a newfound Christian faith, he famously sang, "You're gonna have to serve somebody." In less poetic terms, that means we're all held captive to something. availableatamazon It's tricky, this captivity. It may be that having money-or its inverse, living simply-becomes what identifies Christians more than Christ.
Pass the Peace
Peace. A promised possession that so often eludes me. It occupies so much of my mind, not the peace unfortunately, but more often, the eluding. Where is it? Is it here? Am I just not seeing it or attuned to it? Having written a whole book on it one would think I have it nailed down. Yet, I imagine like many of you, I yearn for peace all the time. If Jesus gives me peace, and I believe He does, than where is mine? Scripture has not been my friend the last year or so.
Again.
Today marks a whole year of reading Psalm 91 every single day. This is not some self-righteous proclamation about consistency. In truth, I have tried to leave the psalm behind. How could I really be stuck reading one psalm for this long? And yet, every day it has been the same. Again. Some days I have read it over and over and over. Again. again. again. I have listened to it on repeat for thirty minutes of swimming.
A feast of doubts
A feast for the eyes at Brown Bear Bakery in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati I often joke that I’m surprised I could feed myself and shower regularly in undergrad. I remember during freshman orientation telling a classmate I wanted to be a psychology major, but I meant to say philosophy and barely knew the difference. I went to Aspen, Colorado, for the first time this month for a work thing at the Aspen Institute.
It's time to share some big news
I made a playlist with my kid for her tenth birthday party. It has the usual suspects: most of the “Sing 2” soundtrack, Taylor Swift, some CHVRCHES tracks, and a surprise appearance by The Innocence Mission and Jon Guerra. These last two? I’d like to take some credit.
A Night with Orphaned Believers
A conversation with Seattle-based writer Sara Billups on Orphaned Believers (Baker Books) & reflections on publishing a book as a new author Thursday, July 6 · 7 - 8pm EDT Location 213 Listening Room 213 Orchard Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 United States About this event 1 hour Mobile eTicket Part spiritual memoir of an apocalyptic childhood and part commentary on growing up as an evangelical kid during the culture wars, Orphaned Believers follows the journey of a generation of Christian...
Six local, must-go ice cream shops
In the warmer, sunnier spring and summer months, what kid wouldn’t go bananas for a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Here are six local ice cream shops in Seattle to help you savor warm weather days. Frankie & Joe’s Seattle-based Frankie & Joe’s (with location at in University Village, Capitol Hill and Ballard) has proven without a doubt that delicious ice cream does not require dairy.
Finding Something that Eats God
Taylor’s campus. Cazel91, public domain via Wikimedia Commons In the 90s when I was an English major, Taylor University was far from perfect. Taylor is a majority white school in Upland, Indiana — a speck of a Central Indiana town with zero stop lights and one famous ice cream shop.
Revival IS You
Before we get into this issue of Bitter Scroll, a question: Would you be willing to leave an honest review of Orphaned Believers on Amazon if you haven’t yet? It takes a couple of minutes but makes a huge difference in expanding the reach of the book — and means a lot to me as a little fish swimming in a very big pond. If you believe in my writing and the message of the book, please take a moment to rate and review the book.
Two tasty bakes from Pie School author Kate Lebo
Seattle literary and culinary darling Kate Lebo became a household name for home bakers in Seattle when she released her book “Pie School: Lessons in fruit, flower and butter “in 2014. In the book, Leto share recipes for 50 truly perfect pies. Seattle’s Child asked Lebo to hand-pick a pair of recipes from her book that she felt kids would love as much as parents. Here now, two pies to put on your list.
read this
Occasionally, other writers pop into my social media that make me squint my eyes and tilt my head to the side. It’s like a C+C Music Factory, “Things that Make You Go Hmmm…” type of moment if you catch my early 90s drift. Such was the case with writer , author of Orphaned Believers. I had a feeling she and I were going to get along, both in the ways we see the world and in how we pen words in response.
A Night for Orphaned Believers with Sara Billups and Jon Guerra
A Night for Orphaned Believers with Sara Billups and Jon Guerra Join Seattle-based writer Sara Billups & Austin-based singer-songwriter Jon Guerra for a night celebrating the release of Orphaned Believers
What Is an Orphaned Believer?
God loves the sojourner. Deuteronomy 10:18 says, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you.” When I talk about orphaned believers, I mean two things. First, orphaned believers are cultural orphans. We’re Christians in a middle space. We might be politically progressive, moderate, or conservative, but we have joined together in standing against the deep currents of Christian nationalism that surfaced during the Trump presidency.
Inward Definitions
Spiritual formation involves disciplines to strengthen our faith in order to become more like Jesus. Finding structure helps us not just grow but be pruned to bear sweet fruit. My pastor once talked in a sermon about spiritual formation being like a trellis, a structure that guides vines and flowers. Growing in the Christian life happens more easily with a framework to help us to grow: rhythms and practices of prayer and service, some done in solitude and if possible some done in community.
Sara Billups: Orphaned Believers
Orphaned Believers Baker Books, 2023 By Sara Billups WHO: Sara Billups, a Seattle-based writer and cultural commentator. SHE SAYS: “No affliction can overcome the Spirit of God in us.” THE BIG IDEA: This book explores how the experiences of Christians growing up in the 1980s and 1990s led to many of them leaving the faith, and what can draw them back.
Healing, over donuts
We all live out liturgies, all the time. I was raised hearing about the end times and culture wars around the dinner table. I was also raised on a weekend liturgy of watching TGIF sitcoms on Friday night, roaming the mall on Saturday, and attending church before passing spareribs around a lazy Susan at a Chinese restaurant like the one Dad ate at on Sundays while growing up with his Jewish family.
Heavenly Bodies
We honeymooned for two weeks in Spain in 2002, staying for a few nights in a B+B on a vineyard outside of Ronda. The staff served dinners on the patio, next to rolling fields where the sun traced itself down rocks in the distance. I avoided the pool, lined daily with Euro-cool, rail-thin people. On the third night, we watched the sunset while eating a creme brulee-sized mold of buttery leaks topped with caviar shaped like a cascading grapevine.
Introducing: Orphaned Believers, the Cover Reveal!
Friends, hi!—I’m thrilled to share the cover for my first book, Orphaned Believers: How a Generation of Christian Exiles Can Find the Way Home. Maybe like you, I grew up spending Saturday at the mall and Sunday at the service. I was formed as much by culture wars and consumerism as I was by the faith I was given. It’s no wonder that, in our present moment, so many of us are weary and wandering as we try to move toward Jesus in a very big cultural storm.
The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip
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Will the last person leaving evangelicalism turn out the lights?
The “Boeing bust” began in Seattle in the early 1970s, when the city’s largest employer laid off more than 40,000 workers in a year and the local unemployment rate hovered near 12%.
Spike the Punch
I’m back from a week at a low-residency writing program in Michigan, and I have a few things to tell you about craft this month. The paint is drying on these thoughts, which I hope ring true to any of us doing creative work or speaking up about what we believe in—be in the Church, politics, culture, or our own story. Spike the Punch Say something beautiful, then spike the punch. Write like you talk. Say it back out loud, try to be casual even when it’s complicated. Then get gutsy.
Gen X Tears are Gen Z Tears
I couldn’t cry at the start of the pandemic so I drove to a parking lot, assuming the irony of a strip mall would set something off. It didn’t. Then, I drove to a graveyard with a giant Jesus statue and stared at its stone eyes, but no tears came. The moment I realized the pandemic was real was the Tuesday when school shut down. I went to the 90s bathroom with the shell sink near my bedroom and called my friend Michelle.
An American (evangelical) affair
I’m writing a book called Orphaned Believers to understand what happened to a generation of kids who grew up in the Church and are now adults weary and wandering from culture wars and nationalism. I spend 1:45 talking about it here. Jesus and John Wayne author Kristin Du Mez was recently interviewed for Anne Helen Petersen’s excellent Culture Study Substack.
Upside down Guess labels & the aspirational class
Christians are part of the capital-C church. We all get the same imaginary membership card to put on a keychain with our Y gym pass and library card. But American Christians also carry membership cards to another club, whether or not we want to belong: the market. The Church and market can’t help but collide, often to spectacularly brutal consequences.
Gold Teeth
Sometimes, salvation splinters. Growing up in a non-denominational evangelical church in the 80s and 90s, I picked up on the belief that certain folks were in the kingdom. Others were, “only God knows,” but … probably out. The top level messaging I learned as a kid: Pentecostals may be technically under the evangelical tent, but to be avoided. They were chasing emotions and holy ghost addicts. They missed Jesus because they were looking for some conjured magic.
Courage for Orphaned Believers
Welcome to Bitter Scroll by me, Sara Billups. Seattle-based faith and culture writer. Sign up now so you don’t miss the first issue. In the meantime, tell your friends!
About Mars Hill - Sara Billups
In the Midwest where I grew up, it was assumed you went to church. Indiana was flooded with cultural Christianity. But in my hometown, anyone with a propensity for wearing vintage t-shirts and collecting zines experienced a certain cultural estrangement. We all wanted to get out. While in Indiana, I heard about a church in Seattle called Grace where musicians I liked attended from time to time.
Reform the Church from Within — Sara Billups
Whether or not you’re in a particular church, taking a break, deconstructing, reconstructing, doubting, or hanging on by a thread: If we’re moving towards Jesus, the Church is our rightful home. And we should work to restore it. I remain convinced that in spite of the fine mess we’ve made of the Church in our American, Capitalistic, politicized expression, she still remains our best hope. Because she’s what Christ left us with. A long list of wounds Colonialization.
BBC World Service Interview — Sara Billups
I woke up before dawn and recorded an interview with BBC News about Christian Nationalism, the big tent of evangelicalism, and where the American church goes from here. Listen below:
Taking a day off from the pandemic
A day of rest. I recently wrote a list of what’s happened – in the world and in my own life – since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: The millions of lives we’ve lost to COVID, each born to a mother like me. The economic blows to people I care about. The Seattle-area businesses I frequent and love that have shuttered. The many political and cultural rifts in our country. The death of RBG. Personally, this year has brought caring for sick parents while supporting my young children in remote learning.
Opinion | There Are Evangelicals Who Stand Against Trump. I’m One of Them.
We can’t succumb to the president’s appeals to fear. By Sara Billups Ms. Billups is a writer. Nov. 1, 2020, 11:00 a.m. ET Like many kids who grew up as evangelicals, I was taught that abortion was the only issue when it comes to politics. When I turned 18, in the 1990s, my father took me to the Allen County Republican headquarters in my Indiana town, where I registered as a card-carrying conservative. Then we went to Fort Wayne’s Famous Coney Island for celebratory chili dogs.
Radical Hospitality in Seattle's CHOP — Sara Billups
July 15, 2020 by Sara Billups in Christianity, culture Like in many American cities, Seattle protestors demanding racial justice and an end to police brutality gathered for several nights after the killing of George Floyd. Following multiple days of protests outside the East Seattle Police Precinct, protestors established CHOP, or the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, on June 8 when police vacated the station in the heart of Seattle.
The Irresistible Peril of Publishing — Ekstasis Magazine
By Sara Billups Late one night many years ago, my infant son started to cry and couldn’t be consoled. An hour passed, and nothing else worked to calm him, we got in the car and started driving. We drove east through cornfields and towards a circular cloud with a thunderstorm inside. A storm contained in a floating orb, a cumulonimbus with lightning shooting through its veins like an aorta or an electric eel. My son had long since stopped crying, but we kept moving towards the cloud.
My New Year’s Resolution: To Call Myself Christian in Public
Last January, I made an unusual resolution. On New Year’s Day, like many people, I peel the plastic off a new planner and imagine its pages filled with earnest but unlikely ambitions, from reading the Bible cover to cover to praying the Examen every night. But last year, instead of changing a daily practice, I set out to change a pattern: I would begin to speak openly about my Christian faith.
The Best Coffee Drink in Seattle
Seattle is a city in flux, and with soaring rents and endless construction projects, many argue it’s for the worse. Coffee is the city’s emulsifier—it's common ground for new arrivals with freshly minted Amazon badges, longtime Seattleites lamenting the departure of treasured dives, and swarms of tourists who descend on this beautiful city.
Nice Package: Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, Olympia, Washington
A redesign is a precious thing. Since launching in 2005, the brand has gone through an ownership change, expanded to several new cafes, and helped define what a quality-focused coffee brand can look like in a small market. Today our friends & partners at Oly Coffee (as the locals call it) have a major HQ expansion on the horizon, supported by a loan from the city of Olympia itself.
La Marzocco Home Custom GS/3 Espresso Machine Unboxing
Today our partners are La Marzocco USA are launching a new way to order their popular line of home espresso equipment, called La Marzocco Home. It’s a web-based way to customize La Marzocco’s GS3 home espresso machine–coffee writer Oliver Strand once called it “the industry gold standard”–similar to how you might customize a pair of Nike basketball shoes, or a brand new car.
At Seattle's Coastal Kitchen, A New Espresso Program That Slays
Coastal Kitchen is arguably the godfather of brunch in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The 24-year-old restaurant turns over 400 to 500 breakfasts every weekend–and with all of those orders of eggs and pancakes come hundreds of cups of coffee. “Every Saturday and Sunday here is like Easter,â€? says General Manager Christine Kennerly. “That 45 minute wait is kind of part of the deal.â€?
The Coffee Setup At Whole Foods Brooklyn Is Basically Bananas
Brooklynites waited a long time for their Whole Foods. For years, the land earmarked for the natural foods big box, just adjacent to a Superfund site and with scenic views of the Gowanus Canal, sat patiently, awaiting the day the Texas-based retailer could issue the green light.
The Best Coffee Drink in Seattle
Seattle is a city in flux, and with soaring rents and endless construction projects, many argue it’s for the worse. Coffee is the city’s emulsifier—it's common ground for new arrivals with freshly minted Amazon badges, longtime Seattleites lamenting the departure of treasured dives, and swarms of tourists who descend on this beautiful city.
In Seattle, General Porpoise Does Doughnuts & Coffee, Fast & Slow
The coffee doesn’t come first at Seattle’s General Porpoise, but it’s hardly an afterthought. The five-month-old doughnut-centric shop from much-laureled Seattle chef Renee Erickson is also a bustling multiroaster cafe. General Porpoise is part of a trio of neighboring projects spanning one block in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The New La Marzocco Cafe At KEXP Seattle
Yesterday in Seattle, longtime Sprudge partner La Marzocco unveiled its first ever cafe and showroom at the new home of listener-supported radio station KEXP. While time will reveal how the public interacts with the ambitious project, it’s fair to say that specialty coffee has yet to welcome a concept quite like what La Marzocco has pulled off at the independent station’s new address in Seattle Center.
Seattle: The New Visions Espresso Show Room Is Hot Fire
Wind the clock back 30 years and Seattle’s coffee landscape looked something like this: a handful of neighborhood cafes were in business along with Starbucks and Stewart Brothers (later to become Seattle’s Best), Monorail Espresso was pulling shots from the city’s first coffee cart, Kent Bakke had imported a handful of La Marzocco espresso machines to Seattle cafes, and Visions Espresso Service was born.
In Seattle, Slate Coffee's Expansion Is All In The Family
There’s big things happening right now with coffee in Seattle. No, I’m not talking about some massive coffee corporation; this is much more of a family affair. Since their launch in late 2012, Seattle’s Slate Coffee Roasters have earned a reputation as one of the city’s leading microroasters, marching to their own drum and earning converts in droves.
An Autumnal Coffee Cocktail From Seattle's Tavern Law
For a lot of us, there’s a blip of time in the late afternoon when we have to choose between one last espresso or a post-work drink. The Treaty of Paris from Seattle’s Tavern Law meets you in the middle: the autumnal coffee cocktail is made with a quarter of a shot of espresso and herbal, darker spirits that give a sweet burn that fits the season.
Ahoy! Sea Level Bakery & Coffee On The Oregon Coast
It’s more than a little ironic that the Oregon Coast is a coffee desert. But visit and you’ll be hard pressed to find many examples of excellent cafes along the completely gorgeous coastline, with a happy exception: Sea Level, a year-old cafe and bakeshop in Cannon Beach. Sea Level owners Jason and Liz Menke used to visit friends who lived near a little bakery called Waves of Grain several blocks off the main retail drag in the touristy town.
Seattle: The Infinite Complexity Of Espresso Vivace
In Seattle, the venerable roaster shoulders that the city’s many cafes stand on mostly have names that start with a “V”.
“A Barista In The Dining Room”: Coffee Done Right At Seattle’s Canlis
Here’s some radical logic: Restaurants should care more about coffee they’re serving, and work to source quality beans, just like you would any other ingredient. That’s the thought behind the coffee program at Seattle’s iconic Canlis restaurant, where owners and brothers Brian and Mark Canlis have created what’s arguably one of the most impressive restaurant coffee program in the United States. Like all things, the coffee service at Canlis has been an evolution.
In Seattle, A Math-Inspired Cafe Where It All Adds Up
Almost as soon as QED Coffee’s Matt Greenfield graduated with a math degree from The Evergreen State College, he knew he wasn’t going to use it. At least not directly. But the owner of the three-month-old cafe in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood has been able to sneak in principles from his math background into his cafe in surprising ways. Starting with the name. Mathematicians write “Q.E.D.” (Latin for, Quod Erat Demonstrandum) as a formality at the bottom of proofs.
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