By David Wilkinson The same week that novelist Anne Rice announced that her faith in Christ has led her to disown the name “Christian,” a young woman from Bolivia quietly renewed my hope for people called Christians — and for…
The proper way to eat animal crackers
By David Wilkinson What’s the proper way to eat an animal cracker? According to the book Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, the most popular order of dismemberment among children is as follows: back legs, forelegs, head and, lastly, torso….
Stray bullets
By David Wilkinson What goes up must come down. As our family recently discovered, that includes a .40-caliber bullet. Our daughter Meredith, driving a car she had borrowed from a cousin for a month-long summer job, was preparing to return…
Grandpa’s gift of mistaken identity
By David Wilkinson Sometimes being mistaken for someone else is a high compliment, especially when it puts you in some good company. Some of my fondest memories are the times I went quail hunting with my dad and grandfather outside…
Heroes disguised as teachers
By David Wilkinson Someday when I’m standing in one of the long lines outside the Pearly Gates awaiting admission, I won’t be a bit surprised to see a much shorter line of VIPs who are being welcomed with streamlined expediting…
Lessons on love from Cecil Sherman
By David Wilkinson Cecil Sherman has rightly been remembered this past week as a leader who spoke the truth and stood by his convictions. I admired him for those and other qualities as well. But I am particularly grateful for…
Apollo 13 and the gospel
By David Wilkinson April 17 marks the 40th anniversary of the splashdown of Apollo 13. It was a happy ending to a nearly disastrous and tragic mission. It was also a tribute to the bravery of the three-member crew and…
Them, us and the Passion of Jesus
By David Wilkinson Engaging Scripture and encountering the Lord of Scripture can be dangerous. Maybe that’s why many of us have learned the art of showing up Sunday after Sunday for “Bible study” without much risk of doing either. That…
Grace for life-changing moments
By David Wilkinson “Daddy,” said the voice on the cell phone. I have assumed that only mothers have the gift of knowing instantly from the way a child calls her name if something is wrong, and that we fathers are…
Seeing Jesus in the face of another
By David Wilkinson One of my prayers for this season of Lent was to be more intentional about looking for Jesus in unexpected faces and places. Lo and behold, Jesus showed up for dinner. On Ash Wednesday, our church family…
Baylor gets its Starr
By David Wilkinson The Baptist world was set abuzz by Monday’s announcement of Kenneth Starr’s election as president of Baylor University. Not surprisingly, everyone has an opinion about this big news. Across Baptist life, the phone calls, e-mails, blog posts,…
Less revenge, more forgiveness
By David Wilkinson “Revenge is the rage at the movies,” proclaims The Wall Street Journal. Well, there’s a surprise. The WSJ notes that revenge, retribution and retaliation are served up (with heaping helpings of violence, naturally) in a trio of…