Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has taught us much about athletic prowess in his relatively short football career. At the high school in small-town Whitehouse, Texas, he was a local football hero. In his senior year, he passed for 4,619…
A real-life story of the power of kindness to overcome differences
One of the most unfortunate consequences of the political disagreements that plague our country is the broken relationships — the suspicion, judgment and even hatred — that now fester between many former friends and acquaintances who believe differently. Some have…
The blasphemy of Franklin Graham
According to the newspaper in his father’s hometown of Charlotte, N.C., Franklin Graham thinks the 10 Republican congressional leaders who voted to impeach President Trump were like Judas, who betrayed Jesus. “The House Democrats impeached him because they hate him…
I saw two Americas this Thanksgiving
On this Thanksgiving weekend just past, I was aware of two Americas. Interspersed among the segments of Macy’s parade and the Disney Holiday celebration was a reminder that in our country not all the pleasures of life are simple or…
Observations on adult versus childish reactions to disappointment
During the 53 years since I graduated from Mississippi College, there have been occasional opportunities in my international work with others to apply some of the information I was taught in the 16 credit hours of classes from my psychology minor. Especially during…
Cain and Abel: A metaphor for the sin of casteism
In his 2016 landmark book, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, Jim Wallis reveals: “The most controversial sentence I ever wrote was not about abortion, gay marriage, the wars in Vietnam or Iraq, elections, or…
Listen more, speak less, dispel anger with love
Our country is politically torn apart. This is the reality that greets us every day in the national media, regardless of which network, website or newspaper we follow. Our states are labeled by their Republican or Democratic governors, eliciting opinions…
What I’ve learned about agreeing to disagree in contentious times
As a teacher for most of my adult life, I knew not everyone would — or should — blindly agree with my perspective. For at least two decades, I chose to teach my seminary graduate courses around conference tables rather…
Donald Trump and the 10 Commandments
Recently, watching an old movie about a trial in a small American town, I noted the wooden panel displaying the Ten Commandments placed on the back wall of the courtroom. Visible, just for the moment when the protagonist walked across…