Unless you’ve been living under a huge cliché, you’ve heard the raging controversy over Bishop Mariann Budde’s message at the National Cathedral prayer service held in conjunction with the recent inauguration of President Donald Trump. If you missed it, here’s…
Of meth sermons and puke dust
I call it “puke dust.” Remember what happened in elementary school when a kid puked in the hall? So it could be absorbed and swept up, a custodian would come and pour that green sawdust-looking stuff upon the putrid puddle….
How a leap of faith from a bridge killed a part of me that actually needed to die
During my Ph.D. program, I found myself drowning in the deepest depression of my life — and that’s saying a lot. In college, a misunderstanding with a professor had prompted me to raise my dorm window and think very seriously…
Letter to a friend concerned about my peace
So good to hear from you, John Doe! I think about you just about every day because almost every day I see the gift you gave me. I write the following with profound appreciation for your own message. There is,…
A tale of two Trump supporters
Less than an hour after Donald Trump was shot, one of my most liberal friends posted a meme making light of the situation. I phoned to confront the callousness. Things got heated. When I blurted, “Stop acting like a 2-year-old,”…
Thanks to the college student who prescribed me an anti-pride-essant
Thoughts of suicide hounded me even though I was preaching every Sunday about abundant life. I had suffered from depression and anxiety long before the stress of Ph.D. work. Now the pain was compounded by taking a double full-time course…
Trump supporters’ silence about his threat for vengeance
In the 1990s, my friends on the far left were upset that I favored impeaching and convicting President Bill Clinton for lying under oath. When Democrats on social media were lauding Garth Brooks’ singing of “Amazing Grace” at President Joe…
Trump or Harris? An open letter to undecided and to open-minded voters
Author’s note: This article began as a response to multiple family and friends who engaged me in constructive correspondence about the presidential election. Dear Kind Family and Friends Who Have Written Me About the Presidential Election: You’ve sent me…
Little League coach’s speech: Home run, foul or something else?
If the speech were a hard-hit baseball, it was high, deep and down the baseline. Some say it was a home run. Some say despite feeling and looking great to many of the “home-team fans” (aka Christians), it went foul….
Christians’ promotion of corporal punishment harms bodies, minds and the gospel
“Spanking? Well, you know, the Bible says, ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child.’” Actually, it doesn’t. The harsh teacher Ichabod Crane in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow spoke this popular misquotation of Proverbs 13:24. Even the website of…
Maybe non-Christians prefer drag queens to tattletales
“Teacher! Billy stuck his tongue out at me!” You’re the teacher. Take a moment to think about how you’d respond. Many folks would say, “Billy? Did you stick your tongue out at Jimmy? … Tell me the truth. … OK….
Maybe we are the sharks
We fear shark attacks despite being far, far more likely to die in a car wreck while driving to the beach than being bit by a shark once at the beach. Shark attacks make the national news precisely because they…