Someone needs to take down Vladimir Putin. Last week’s brazen attack on a residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, is only the latest in a year’s worth of horrifying atrocities set in motion by one man alone — Putin. And for…
How my eyes were opened to America’s broken immigration system
“The system is broken.” This was the most common phrase I heard during my week at the T.B. Maston Foundation’s Young Maston Scholars Retreat focused on immigration in San Antonio, Texas. From executive directors, professors, pastors, missionaries, volunteers and the…
Meditating with Buddhists and other Asian lessons
During the 1988-89 school year, our family lived in Fukuoka, Japan, on a sabbatical leave from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. During that time, we served as Mission Service Corps volunteers sponsored by what was then called the Foreign Mission Board…
The Black resistance tradition and its fight for U.S. democracy
Black America flipped the script on a racialized democratic state to make it more perfect. It is Black people’s fight that makes the United States exceptional. —Randal Jelks (2022) Many of us are profoundly worried about the health of…
Five book recommendations on creation stewardship for 2023
The Green Bible If you don’t have a copy of this Bible on your bookshelf, you’re missing out on a great resource that highlights the “greenness” of the Bible. Utilizing the New Revised Standard Version, The Green Bible literally uses…
Queen Elizabeth was a role model for women in faith and leadership
“Hey, are you OK? As soon as I heard, I thought of you.” That’s what I heard on the other end of the phone from my best friend the day Queen Elizabeth died. Why did the death of a monarch…
Two football coaches went up to pray …
Prayer is communication in the divine realm. When we pray, we share openly with God and listen attentively to the internal whispers of the Spirit in communion with our own. Whether audible or silent, our voice to God should be…
‘Grief brain’: The three big deficits of grief
Grief is relentless. The only way to get through grief is to grieve. The only way to get through the pain is to feel and process the pain. One of the best ways to manage the stress and anxiety that…
Prayer might not be enough
When someone shares a prayer request, what do you hear? We’ve been programmed to tell others when we have a need for God’s help. Many of us grew up going to Wednesday prayer service, where a significant block of time…
Mending broken pieces and broken lives with kintsugi
Sometimes understanding other cultures’ artistic and spiritual perspectives brings greater meaning to our shared humanity. This article is about brokenness in my creative world. As 2022 came to a close, I designed a New Year’s card with one of my…
When my church and I let Jesus down: Jesus in the distressing disguise of the homeless
My wife and I were in the mountains of North Carolina (Bakersville) for a week and a half during the Christmas season staying in what used to be her parents’ home. On a few days it was cold, bone-chilling cold….
What I’m learning as a Maston Scholar: ‘Don’t forget!’
“Don’t forget!” Those were the exact words a professor shared with us at the recent retreat for T.B. Maston Scholars. I was touched in a way that was a call for action for myself and the Christian world. I am…