My mother had light in her eyes. She was a delightful combination of my grandparents. My grandmother had a strong sense of right and wrong, a strong sense that her way was right and yours was wrong. So much was…
In light of New Orleans, Christians have a better message to fight radicalization
The recent terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day has shaken the nation. As details emerge, the tragedy underscores the urgent need to confront the forces that fuel radicalization and extremism. In the face of such senseless violence,…
It’s 2025: Where’s our witness?
We were out visiting for the church, the Deacon and I, two Baptists prepared to “win the lost for Christ” on a steamy summer Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth. The Deacon was a committed soul winner, and I was a…
Jimmy Carter and ‘the way things are’
Editor’s note: This column was published March 2, 2023, in the Pine Belt News of Hattiesburg, Miss., and is republished here with slight edits to fit the remembrance of Jimmy Carter. In Jimmy Carter’s boyhood autobiography, An Hour Before…
The fear driving Trump’s grift
Shortly after the 2024 presidential election, I dreamed a dream. I was on a sidewalk in what appeared to be a seedy part of town. Weeds were pushing through sidewalk cracks. Volunteer bushes were brushing up against the gigantic wall…
Ask Lazarus: Not all resurrection stories have pleasant endings
I don’t mean to sound morbid, but I’m sure I’m not the first person to notice how eerily similar funeral services are to the ritual of sentencing a person to prison. With the ritual of a funeral ceremony, many people…
Estranged for the holidays? You’re not alone
Although family togetherness characterizes the Christmas season, some of us may find ourselves relationally poorer this New Year. No one has died, and yet gifts are unsent and places are empty at the table. If this sounds familiar, you’ve got…
Make a resolution to embrace your true self and the rest will fall into place
We live in a hyper-competitive society. Many of us tirelessly strive to keep up with the Joneses. As one year draws to a close and a new one begins, what do we have to show for it? Copious amounts of…
Jimmy Carter and the strength of fields
I’m thinking about the late poet James Dickey tonight as I reflect upon Jimmy Carter’s impact on my life. Dickey became famous for his terrifying 1970 novel Deliverance, about four suburban weekend warriors from Atlanta (Dickey’s hometown and mine) who…
Jimmy Carter was the most decent and respectable president of my lifetime
Heather Cox Richardson’s assessment about the life and career of President Jimmy Carter is commendable, yet incomplete. Richardson failed to mention that it was President Carter who led the transfer of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama….
Love, faith and simplicity: Remembering our visit with President and Mrs. Carter
What is it like to visit in the home and the church of a former president? In the spring of 2012, my wife, Amanda, and I were blessed to spend a week in Plains, Ga., where I had been invited…
President Carter: The second half of life can be better than the first
When I learned former President Jimmy Carter’s health had died, memories began to unfold of when I met him during a chaotic season in my life nearly seven years ago. My memory is crystal clear on the events in my…