Do you have a book you can say changed your life? I do. I was a freshman in college when I read Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean. It had a profound impact on what I thought and believed…
An internet celebrity visits Bubba-Doo’s
I don’t know about you. But out-of-town company arriving for a visit is a real thrill at our house. We love having visitors, and my wife and I expend some effort getting ready for our guests. Obviously, there is some…
I’d rather swim than worship
It was a haunting statement by a pastor. She was asked how her church had rebounded from the impact of COVID upon live worship attendance. Like most, she reported that only about 65% of the pre-COVID attenders had returned to…
At the Supreme Court: The First Amendment on the 50-yard line
Next Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Kennedy v. Bremerton, a dispute involving high school football coach Joseph Kennedy, who refused to stop holding post-game prayers on the field and later sued the Bremerton, Wash., school…
10 life lessons from Holy Week
Our reflective Lenten journey is complete and our celebrative journey into Eastertide has begun. But before we leave Holy Week too quickly, there are a few takeaways from the stories we encountered we need to bookmark, a few lessons for…
Of Christians singing on a plane, outrage, shame and a better song
Is it good manners for Christians to break into public songs of worship in the confined space of a commercial airplane in flight? Is it fair for a Muslim politician to question whether people of her faith would have been…
I am good! Teaching children they are made in the image of God
If you ask people who grew up in church why they left, you’ll get a variety of answers. Maybe they were hurt by someone they trusted. Or they couldn’t reconcile an all-powerful and good God with the evil in the…
7 reasons to calm down about the termination of Title 42
On April 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the pending termination of Title 42, the order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the threat of COVID-19. The decision caused…
Connect the dots from Methodists to Baptists to Episcopalians to Presbyterians and national politics
Maybe this is simply stating the obvious, but here goes: There is a pattern to what is happening in the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church and other American churches. And that pattern…
What is the gospel, or what must I do to be saved?
The answer to the great question of how to be saved was supposed to be easy. When I was a kid, they said to “invite Jesus into your heart.” It sounded good, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. To…
The good news of the Resurrection transcends the social agendas of any Christian faction
Christ is risen! This the greatest story ever told, the most important event in human history, the central truth of the last 2,000 years. It’s also a breaking story and an ongoing revolution, because Jesus is still alive and still…
Let’s consider the moral courage it takes for some to reconnect with church after the pandemic
Moral: the right thing to do, although it doesn’t feel right. Courage: doing the right thing anyway. This week, especially this week, there are people of faith in your community who are trying to work up the courage to reconnect…