No question. We have become obsessed with superheroes. In the next few years there is expected to be over 30 superhero movies directed, produced, and released to a general public who cannot get enough of seeing their favorite comic book…
Christmas Ornaments
For the first three years after my Father died, my Mother refused to put up a Christmas tree. Christmas had been a beloved holiday for both my parents, and my Father spent countless hours each year setting up the Snow…
Advent: A Time to Slow Down and Listen Up
The long lines of Black Friday have finally gone down but the blitz of the hyper-commercialized holiday season is just revving up. This period of time from Thanksgiving to Christmas has become the “busy” season. There are trees to decorate,…
Networking on Airplanes the Tony Campolo Way
Anyone who has experienced Tony Campolo in person probably has Tony Campolo stories. Not stories about him, but stories he tells that you retell. Yeah, me too. Since I claim over two million airline miles during my life–a small amount…
Decided. Or have we become what we thought we would be
At the end of every semester, like clockwork I suppose, it happens. Amidst the speeches, the tasseling (oh, the TASSELING!), the pomp and the circumstance. Amidst the youthful expectancy, the Quixotic hubris, and the endless marimba ring screeching disturbingly from…
So Very Kind of Pretty Much Thankful
On the one hand, I have an easy time giving thanks. On the other hand, I have a difficult time giving thanks.
Giving Thanks: More Than a Holiday Slogan
Giving thanks is more than a holiday slogan. Like a catalyst, real gratitude re-shapes our attitude and reconfigures our personality. Elie Wiesel proposes that, “When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person…
on mega-churches, millennials and modernism.
In my hometown there is a church. This church has a sanctuary. A steeple. A large staff of religious professionals. A jet. A hashtag campaign for each sermon series. A fleet of boats. A “membership” of over 8,000. And at…
Lessons on Community from a Solitary Walk in the Woods
I had the opportunity recently to go up to Crossroads Camp and Conference Center in Lowesville, VA for the Gathering of Silence hosted by the Virginia Baptist Epiphany Institute of Spirituality and sponsored by the WMU of Virginia. This week…