A few weeks ago, I woke up to a text message saying it had snowed overnight, despite there having been no measurable snowfall in North Carolina since 2022 nor any forecasts of snow for that morning. Intrigued, I looked out…
How should we respond to the tragic death of Brian Thompson?
In the Book of Judges, we encounter a verse that encapsulates a time of moral chaos in Israel: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This haunting statement captures…
Letter to a friend concerned about my peace
So good to hear from you, John Doe! I think about you just about every day because almost every day I see the gift you gave me. I write the following with profound appreciation for your own message. There is,…
‘If we weren’t powerful, they wouldn’t try to stop us,” Justin Jones says
Pro-democracy activists should have as much if not more confidence in the potential of their movement as authoritarian white supremacists do, Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones said during Fellowship Southwest’s Compassion and Justice Conference. “If we were not powerful, if our…
Two roads diverged in a cold food court
Ninety percent of my dissertation was written in the food court at the mall. I’m an extreme extrovert. Prolonged silence exhausts me. Plus, the irregular noise of an ant walking greatly distracts me. So, crowded restaurants and coffee shops are…
The Jesus Room
The Jesus Room lies in the bowels of Richmond’s cavernous First Baptist Church, one of those stately old churches that takes up most of a city block. It’s a part of the basement floor of the church, comprising a community…
Fellowship Southwest plans first-ever conference on compassion and social justice
Come to Fellowship Southwest’s first-ever conference on compassion and social justice and you won’t be asked to wear a lanyard. That’s perhaps a selling point compared to most conferences plagued by the ever-present plastic nametag holder and fabric lanyard around…
He Called Me Sister — an unlikely story of an inmate, a family and grace on Death Row
Suzanne and Alan Robertson and their daughters found grace, compassion and hope in one of the last places most people would think to look: Death Row. Suzanne Craig Robertson recounts their discovery — and how it touched their lives —…
How a medical emergency during worship showed love in action
We had a medical emergency last Sunday during our gathering at Restore. It was one of those “they don’t teach you this in seminary” moments. I was in the middle of preaching when I looked over and saw that someone…