There is a zipper merge lane near the interstate exit roughly a mile or so from my house. If you find yourself confused by the phrase “zipper merge lane,” don’t worry, very few licensed drivers in my ZIP Code know…
American kids’ mental health is in crisis; the solution isn’t just therapy, it’s revolution
In early December, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a nationwide Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health in light of what he termed “the pandemic’s unprecedented impacts on the mental health of America’s youth and families, as well as the mental…
I’m aiming for a kind of fresh resolve to no longer continue producing solutions for the future based on problems from the past
It isn’t at all novel to admit this to you, dear reader, but New Year’s resolutions are gratingly unbearable; even under the best conditions. But I must say that this year, there is a uniquely hollow and darkly comedic quality…
Advice for churches after the pandemic: Stop believing capitalism will save you
Several years ago — at a stuffy denominational gathering with bad ballroom catering where the chicken breasts all tasted like PowerPoint presentations — a progressive pastor admitted to me the church where he works wouldn’t be “open and affirming” to…
Raising kids at the end of the world
Recently, in the parking lot outside my office, I cried in my car for 10 minutes before work. This was after listening to my local NPR affiliate interview a parent from my son’s school. In her remarks, this parent calmly…
‘I don’t think I care about anything anymore’: How to be anxious and depressed during the end of the world
My son is 6 years old and in the first grade. He loves Lego, Harry Potter, outer space and finishing books as soon as he gets them. Inexplicably, my son maintains this stubborn inquisitiveness about the world around him even…
The revolution will be hashtagged
“If you are the praying type” many tweets I come across often begin, “my son just died and I don’t think I can go on,” or “my husband, who is also a father of three, has incurable cancer,” or “I…
On Father’s Day, lessons from home, from church, from the SBC — and a better way to be a parent
My father and I are estranged and have been for several years now. I don’t mean for this to sound dramatic, because it isn’t. But just because something isn’t dramatic doesn’t mean there isn’t still pain. Especially around Father’s Day….
Learning to see my hometown from a different perspective with a little help from my friends
I’m from Knoxville, Tenn. You probably haven’t thought much about the mid-sized Southern city I call home for the same reasons you don’t often find yourself imaginatively drifting off in the middle of a busy work day with thoughts of…