Her online handle was “Blonde Biohazard.” Her Perfect Match: “Just looking for someone who isn’t Jack the Ripper, has a pulse and can look at life in a humorous way. Must like music, have two brain cells to rub together…
Lessons from Karen Kingsbury on writing novels and living in faith
As a journalist, I thought I had learned what I needed to know about the Five Ws and the H — Who, What, When, Where, Why and How — the essential building blocks of writing a story. A conversation with…
Six ways white and multiethnic churches can heal the wounds of racial trauma
“Trauma” is a word that comes from the Greek term for “wound.” Often, the most painful wounds are not physical, but those that cannot be seen with the natural eye. There is a particular type of trauma that can impact…
The church’s missional focus: Tourist, traveler or pilgrim?
In our Lilly-funded Project Thrive endeavors, we have outlined seven key traits of thriving churches. It comes as no surprise that one of those is “missional focus,” meaning the ability to keep the congregation focused on its highest priorities. It…
The revolution will be hashtagged
“If you are the praying type” many tweets I come across often begin, “my son just died and I don’t think I can go on,” or “my husband, who is also a father of three, has incurable cancer,” or “I…
Coach Mark Richt plays a long game of faith despite his diagnosis
Ask any University of Florida fan, such as myself, what we have in common with a University of Georgia Bulldog fan, and we’ll say, “Absolutely nothing!” A recent visit to the home of former University of Georgia Football Coach Mark…
The gift Simone Biles gave us
“She quit on her team.” If we were playing a popular social media game called “Poorly Describe What You Do Using Five Words,” that might be how someone would answer for the young Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles. If we were…
If you really respect law enforcement, don’t obstruct, obfuscate, object and misdirect on Jan. 6
I am one of those “put your money where your mouth is” kind of guys. Sadly, these are not easy times for folks like me. For example, if you really respect the service and sacrifice of our military, don’t call…
‘Frederick Buechner, meet Mary Lou Wells’
Frederick Buechner famously defined vocation when he wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” He explained, “The kind of work God usually calls you to is the…
The church and a future worth fighting for
Martin Luther King Jr. famously remarked that 11 a.m. on Sunday was the “most segregated hour in America,” This has been an enduring truth, and the reasons for it are both noble and ignoble. Sunday morning became the most segregated…
‘No, Beth Moore, I will not take your phone away’
It has been four months since Beth Moore publicly cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention. Since that time, Moore has oscillated between prophetic and apologetic as she hones her new post-SBC voice. One moment she’s publicly calling out “hyper-complementarianism”…
How our family is celebrating Christmas in July
Christmas is a mere six months away. Many churches, like my first church in West Jefferson, N.C., where I was an associate pastor, have Christmas in July celebrations and festivities that often coincide with the community’s own festival to prepare…