I put up my 4-foot Christmas tree a few days ago. It took about 15 minutes from box to display. I slid one skinny pole into the other, draped two or three boxes of ornaments over the stiff branches and…
Women and the call to lead
For the first time, a woman has been elected vice president of the United States. It only took 231 years. Kamala Harris carries the hopes and ambitions of many generations of women of all colors who aspire to lead in…
Pilate, Kellyanne and us
Therefore Pilate said to him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth….
How democracy dies: ‘Give us a king’
The fall of ancient Israel began almost before it rose — when the people demanded of Samuel, “Give us a king to lead us.” You can read the whole, sorry story in 1 Samuel 8. The aging prophet who had…
Millennial, Gen Z Christians support missions — with reservations
Christian missionaries face a world of challenges even in “normal” times — unfriendly governments, hostile social and religious forces, cultural barriers and language struggles, to name a few. Now, a global pandemic has made the basic acts of travel and…
Now is the moment for radical moderation
I’m a “radical moderate.” I thought I was so clever when I came up with that apparent oxymoron while searching for a new political identity a few years ago. Even before the election of 2016, I had abandoned the festering…
SECOND OPINION: A world without newspapers?
“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” High school kids used to memorize that line from Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” In the poem, sailors go mad with thirst under a scorching sun as their cursed vessel…
Seeking truth in India’s ‘City of Gold’
MUMBAI, India (BP) — Television writer Sankalp Tak steers his late-model compact through the streets of Mumbai, India’s largest city, dodging waves of cars and motorized rickshaws to park behind a nondescript warehouse. Inside — barely controlled chaos, like Mumbai…
OPINION: Knocking at the gate at Christmas
It's human nature to focus inward, especially during lean times. We do it as individuals, as families and as a nation. Let the world take care of itself for a while, we say. Enough already with endless global crises and…