“My teachers shot.” That’s what a 10th grader texted her mom on Wednesday, Sept. 4, from a locked-down school room at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. There was “blood everywhere,” she later recounted. And another teacher “put pressure on…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Robert P. Jones
Robert P. Jones is founder and president of Public Religion Research Institute and one of America’s foremost scholars on race, religion and politics. He is regularly featured in the news media and is the author of several essential books including…
We should follow the words of Jesus, ‘No more of this!’
For as long as I can remember, I have loved watching rivers, with their beautiful shapes, surfaces and movements. If you’ve ever watched a river, I’m sure you’ve noticed its current is a powerful thing. It shapes the river’s boundaries…
How long will we tolerate The Lottery?
My middle school memory keeps rewinding the film our teacher showed one day of this disturbing short story by Shirley Jackson. Everyone in a small town is assembling. Something important is about to happen. Like a human Farmer’s Almanac, one…
Central Seminary is on the move — physically
Seminary life is profoundly different in 2024 than it was in the late 1980s when I was a seminary student. Looking back, I marvel at the transformation that has taken place in theological education. The rhythms of seminary life, the…
Be No. 2
I’m no movie buff, but there is this list of films in my head that I return to from time to time. One of them is African Queen (Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, 1951). I saw it at Fair Park…
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….
Flight delays and other thought-provoking interruptions
Whenever we travel, one person usually does the worrying about staying on schedule. This helpful, often misunderstood person is a compulsive clock-watcher. This has been a rough summer for people who still wear watches and for Delta, which canceled more…
Apalachee High School: The questions that haunt me at night
I am writing this post very early in the morning of Friday, Sept. 6. It is less than 48 hours after 14-year-old Colt Gray decided to start his freshman year at Apalachee High School, 40 minutes north of me, by…
A sabbatical gift of grace and rest and exploration
I have been in full time ministry for 24 years. Wow. That doesn’t seem possible. Actually, that is almost half my life. Mostly, I am grateful for every second — even the most challenging moments have taught me more about…
Bread of the World — really, the WORLD!
Most liturgical churches have been living into the bread imagery of the Gospel of John for the past several weeks. One of the worship planning resources I use has nicknamed this portion of the Lectionary “high-carb season,” which I thought…
A picture is worth a thousand words, but so is a video
I was stunned while watching the news on a recent night. Network footage showed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz arriving in Savanah, Ga., to begin their two-day bus tour across South Georgia. Waiting at the bus were almost two dozen…