After several days reflection, I’m going to weigh in on the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ad debate. And I’m going to turn this debate slightly, and suggest the following insight: If you want to understand what it’s like to…
The whole gospel of God for a church and nation in crisis
In a piercingly truthful and honest op-ed in The New York Times titled “What Christian Nationalism Has Done to My State And My Faith Is A Sin,” Susan Stubson, a prominent Wyoming Republican, for whom her conservative politics and her…
The unsolvable political problem facing those who lead purple churches
The United States is bitterly divided along what we now call red/blue, conservative/liberal, Republican/Democrat lines. Of course, not everyone fits into those boxes, but enough do for the statement to be accurate. The mutual suspicion and social separation between the…
What The Great British Baking Show teaches us about life and politics
A new season of The Great British Baking Show just hit Netflix, meaning 10 episodes of brand-new bakes are in our future. Like everyone else with good taste, I love The Great British Baking Show. I love the polite and…
Concern for our nation at Bubba-Doo’s
“Pastor, I just don’t understand how we got here.” Now if you feel like you just dropped in on a conversation that had already started, that’s understandable. Let me catch you up on a fascinating chat I participated in the…
Moving from trauma to action
I was talking with someone very close to me recently who said something important I want to share: Our country has so many things going wrong, so many things really to feel ashamed about in a way, that it seems…
What I learned about Polish hospitality toward Ukrainians: There but for the grace of God
I recently had the opportunity to spend a week in Wroclaw, Poland. The original intention for my trip was to teach a spiritual renewal retreat for church leaders over a three-day weekend. The retreat was a planned partnership between The…
Assessing the damage Twitter has done to American Christianity
When historians look back to assess the decline of American Christianity in the first half of the 21st century, they will no doubt finger Twitter as a point of no return. If you are among the 77% of Americans who…
The Supreme Court’s politicized decision on abortion will do nothing to help churches thrive
As if the American church isn’t divided enough, it appears we’re about to roll back the clock 50 years on abortion rights and throw more jet fuel on the culture war bonfires consuming our congregations. For some churches and pastors,…