Question: When do 140,000 American lives not matter? Answer: When they are lost at the hand of other Americans, wielding the weapons which have cost us our freedom. To be more exact, a recent study has shown that between 2002…
‘He’s in the classroom’
By Bill Leonard “He’s in the classroom.” That’s what the 911 caller said to the operator in Roseburg, Ore., around 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2015. The caller alerted authorities to the brutal presence of a shooter at the Umpqua…
Bruises that forever hurt: The death of a reporter and friend
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. -Isaiah 53:5 (NRSV) Just one week ago, I wrote about…
It’s hard to sleep
It is hard to sleep. Tonight, I struggle to reach the land of the sandman because I kept wondering if another scenario like the one at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina was taking place elsewhere in…
Naming the Mother Emmanuel massacre
The nine individuals murdered last night in Mother Emmanuel Church are martyrs. Their lives bear faithful witness not just to a particular faith, but also to a segment of citizenry within both our country and the peaceable kingdom of Jesus…
And justice for all
It really, no kidding, could have been my son. My 17-year-old boy, broader than many and taller than most, must seem imposing, threatening even. I know this because a few weeks ago, when my son was in a place he…
Holy week demanded holy dialogue
Did Holy Week this year seem to shout out for a new dimension of holy dialogue? It did to me. It was an unusual and disruptive week in several ways. It caused me to think about the need for a…
Our culture of violence requires adaptive change
I owned one gun in my life. It was a single shot 22-gauge rifle. My father gave it to me when I was around 12 years old. I sold it to a friend for his grandson 16 years later. In…
Gun control isn’t enough; we need a revival
America has a gun problem, but gun control legislation isn’t enough; we need a 12-step program. Since the tragic shootings in Newtown CT, we have been buried in a welter of statistics. Support for gun control is rising, we are…