There are moments in American history when the question is not which party will win, but whether self-government itself is working as intended. This feels like one of those moments. On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born into a…
Confessions of an exhausted preacher
As I write this, I am a preacher on sabbatical after two years of weekly preaching. I am a “young” preacher in that this is my first preaching job, although not young in age. I have done exhausting jobs before,…
Medicines cost less than tanks
When Rick Warren testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2015, he said something that remains true: Medicines cost less than tanks. As a Christian, I believe every person bears the image of God and is worthy of dignity. I…
Reimagining Esther: Purim amidst polarization
The Jewish festival of Purim starts on the evening of March 2. As a scholar of Esther, the book that holds its supposed “origin” story, I always think of it more vividly on the days it is traditionally celebrated by…
Calling evil good
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu announced their joint missile strike on Iran with a laundry list of the sins of the ayatollah’s regime while ignoring the violence they themselves have inflicted upon their own citizens and the people of Gaza….
National Prayer Breakfast or Christian Nationalism Breakfast?
On Feb. 5, the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast was held in a ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel, with President Donald Trump as the keynote speaker. On Feb. 4, 2016, the 64th National Prayer Breakfast was held at the…
What to make of Adam Hamilton’s possible Senate run?
Adam Hamilton, founder and senior pastor of the largest congregation in The United Methodist Church, announced in an email and video Feb. 27 he is exploring a possible candidacy for the U.S. Senate as an independent. He said he is…
Wicked upon wicked leaves wicked
You may or may not know Billy Preston’s 1974 hit, “Nothin’ from Nothin’ Leaves Nothin’.” But never mind, the refrain is as much mathematical truth as it is moral wisdom. As I considered the world this past weekend, the moral…
Keep hope alive: The legacy of Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. died Feb. 17. Like his mentor, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson has left a lasting impact on our nation and world. So what is that legacy? Some people will remember Jese Jackson as a protester. After…
Yes, the president is a racist
The feral utility of dog whistle statements rests in their deniability. A racist tweets the whistle, and friends and foes alike get the racist message. Then the whistler denies they whistled, insisting instead that foes are overly defensive or are…
Why is Goldman Sachs selling a warehouse for human imprisonment?
Yesterday, a series of protests of Dalfen Industries began in Dallas, since they’ve recently sold a warehouse to ICE in New Jersey. This began because of a request from patriotic Americans in New Jersey who asked for Texans’ help in…
We have a mad king; now what?
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Feb. 24, the longest on record at one hour 47 minutes, didn’t offer much but we did get a clear picture of the state of the presidency. Trump’s own words stack the…