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…
Unseen and unheard: Syrian women in the shadow of change
The fall of a government always ushers in uncertainty, and in Syria such a transition could have profound implications for women, particularly if a more conservative Islamic regime comes to power. Women usually get the short stick in political turmoil….
Will we choose to be extremists for Christ or extremists for Trump?
In what appears to be a regularly repeating phenomenon, many Christians seem to have become convinced that Christ, despite his omnipotence and omnipresence, has gone missing from our schools. They urge the simple fix for this divine absence is for…
Rule No. 1
Rule No. 1 in Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny is “Do not obey in advance.” The subtitle of the Yale historian’s handbook on dictatorship is, “Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.” And they are as relevant today as they were in…
What will it take for you to care about transgender people?
Of all the people justifiably living in fear of the incoming Trump administration, there is one group that stands out for its vulnerability and, to quote the late Tony Campolo, you don’t give a damn. Campolo was famous for the…
Mary the wild rose
This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been filled with reason there’d have been no room for the child. — Madeline L’Engle I am not one of those women who loved being pregnant. Personally,…
Childhood memories of Christmas in Nigeria
Some of the most enduring lessons of life emanate from our parents. As a child who was born and grew up in Jos, in the northern part of Nigeria, one of my childhood memories was the annual visit with my…
Speak their names, tell their stories
Four score and seven years ago. Call me Ishmael. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Opening lines at their best can capture your attention….
How my postpartum depression helps me understand Advent better
I knew postpartum depression was coming for me. The darkness of depression has companioned me during various seasons of my life, and I knew my hormones weren’t going to give me a break after having a baby. It lasted for…