If you plan to vote for Donald Trump, it is your right to vote for the candidate of your choice. Just be aware the candidate of your choice doesn’t want the rest of us to have a choice in the…
Should I force my child to go to church?
In my years of serving as a pastor to students and their families, I’ve heard the following question phrased in a few different ways: Should I force my child to go to church if they don’t want to? In the…
Falling again
Today, I just sit. Taking a pregnant pause from the constant demands of life on this early October afternoon, I find myself sitting on a simple wooden bench in the woods outside an abbey in southern Missouri. I am taking…
Bullshit
In 1916, a 26-year-old Darley Hiden Ramsey submitted a motto for the newly commissioned town seal of Asheville, N.C. His choice, levavi oculos meos in montes, “I lift my eyes to the hills” was taken from Psalm 121. Scholars consider…
My slow slide into addiction
I started drinking after my wife died in 2017. It wasn’t a plunge to drown my sorrows, exactly. More of a slow slide. The widower buddies who helped me get through that brutal first year of loss met at a…
Illiberal America has won many times before
As I write, it is four weeks until the election. The polls on reputable sites like Fivethirtyeight.com are giving the Harris-Walz ticket a very slight advantage, with the results coming down to one or two states. Those of us who…
Floyd Craig gave me the courage to speak
Floyd Craig started making a difference in my life before I knew who he was. I was a senior in college in 1968, a ministerial student serving a small rural church in Middle Georgia. Most of my church members lived…
A prayer for peace in the Holy Lands
On Oct. 7, 2023, the American Airlines flight I was on landed at Tel Aviv Airport at about 5 p.m. local time. I’d slept most of the flight and was completely oblivious to what was happening in the world. Imagine…
God is in the river
Recently my wife and I flew to North Carolina to attend the memorial service of our dear friend and former missionary colleague Eugene Ruble. Gene and Peggy served in Indonesia for many of the years we also were there as…
Donald Trump is The Joker but he’s not joking
When Donald Trump claimed Tim Walz is a “moron” and Kamala Harris was “born mentally impaired,” Lara Trump said he was “joking around.” In defense of what it means to joke around, I suggest Donald Trump is The Joker and…
Letter to the Editor: Christians should vote
Dear Editor: We are at a turning point in our nation’s history. Our founders crafted a Constitution meant to stand the test of time. But time has not been kind to our country. Unconstitutional ideas have been gaining traction for many…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Matthew D. Taylor
Matthew D. Taylor is author of The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that Is Threatening Our Democracy, a brilliant and deep dive into the world of charismatic American Christians who planted the seeds for January 6 and…