I have spent 50 years teaching college students from coast to coast and points in between, and while much has changed over the course of those 50 years, one thing has remained unchanged: the students’ abysmal ignorance of the negative…
Three words of hope for the church in transition
The words came out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying: “This is the only conversation that matters right now in the church.” I was teaching my adult Bible class Sunday morning, continuing a slow verse-by-verse exposition…
Leaving church: Grateful confessions from a dying pastor
Night falls. Sleep fails. It’s 3:00 a.m. My anxiety rises. My mind races. I’m wide awake again. Fatigue cannot describe the soul exhaustion I have felt for 18 months. The knots in my back tense with every toss and turn….
A home for outcasts or a keeper of the ‘sacred timeline’?
Recently my family and I have been watching Loki on Disney+. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of the Marvel universe, Loki is the god of mischief and an archvillain of the Avengers. At the beginning of the…
Paradoxical reflections on a significant birthday
Happy birthday to me. There, we got that out of the way. This week, I’m celebrating a “significant” birthday. It’s not round. It’s a gateway. My wife, Joanna, will celebrate the same-number feliz cumpleaños in five months. Because of those…
How the Constitution’s original religious freedom guarantee almost didn’t happen
On this day 234 years ago, the U.S. Constitution was signed and sent to the states for ratification, not only proposing a much-needed new system of government but also taking one of the first concrete steps to protect religious freedom….
Tombstones or steppingstones?
On holiday in the southwest coastal and midlands regions of England, we visited the small village of Lyndhurst, still known as the capital of The New Forest, because William the Conqueror established the area as a royal hunting ground back…
Jesus, not the Bible, is ‘the Word of God’
Like many Christians, I strive to read the Bible every day. However, I admit frequent failures and that I’m not as diligent as in times past. I remember the first time I set out to read the entire book from…
87 steps toward becoming an ideal team player on the quest for social justice
One of the most insightful books on business management and human resources that I’ve read in the last five years is Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues. Lencioni makes compelling arguments…
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this recommendation letter …
Every once in a while, I get an email from someone whose church has decided God is calling their minister somewhere else. My former student has taken the hint and needs a recommendation letter. Most of his seminary professors do…
COVID wars: Lament over a broken, divided nation
I was talking with a senior Mercer University colleague yesterday about the divisions engulfing our nation over COVID vaccines and masks. Carl has served as a pastor, professor and politician. He’s a very wise man. I said: “Carl, two years…
COVID-19 and moral incompetence
In 1979, the E.F. Hutton investment firm marketed itself on television with a commercial in which someone would mention that E.F. Hutton was managing their investments. Immediately, people near that speaker stopped what they were doing to overhear the conversation,…