Which Christian discipline comes hardest to you? Some answers spring to mind: prayer, generosity, worship, silence, benevolence, fasting, Sabbath keeping, reflection on the scriptures and the like. My vote goes to Christian humility. Jesus’ life defines the nature of Christian…
The sin of conspicuous consumption
By Roger Olson The other evening my wife and I were watching HGTV and saw part of a show about RVs — recreational vehicles. They were showing off the latest and best motor homes. One had a price tag of…
It is finished
I love my planner. I particularly love the sheet where I get to list my weekly tasks – ideally so I don’t forget to do them. Often they stare back at me from the page like a puppy certain it…
A lever and a place to stand
Third century mathematician, Archimedes, coined the phrase, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I’ll move the world.” At the time he was talking about the power of a tool that uses force and a fulcrum to…
Miss Jane
Officially, she had no children. Unofficially, she had scads of them. I don’t know of the children she shepherded as teacher and librarian. By the time I met her she was long retired. I know only of the countless children…
Pockets of friendship: Three lessons for interfaith engagement
Editor’s note: This blog first appeared on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s blog site. It is published by APBnews with the permission of the author. By the time I took my first post-seminary post as a pastor, I wanted interfaith dialogue…
‘Business as mission’ fulfills calling
By Jeff Brumley Some Christians live out their faith by pastoring churches, visiting prisoners or serving as missionaries. Jordan England does it by designing and selling furniture. “This is my calling,” said England, the 31-year-old owner and CEO of Industry…
Andy Griffith’s kinder, gentler community
Andy Griffith died on the Outer Banks of his native North Carolina where he lived. A few years ago, I took my senior adults to the Outer Banks, and, other than seeing the place where “Nights of Rodanthe” was filmed…
New book tells story of loss, redemption
By Bob Allen A new book self-described as “one part worst-case scenario and three parts God’s creative redemption,” about a church-bus tragedy that turned into a grassroots movement for doing good, cracked the Amazon Top 50 Christian Living Hot New…