I have spent much time processing the outcome of the presidential election. The results left me downcast and perplexed. Not because the outcome was opposite of the way I voted, but because of the swiftness and definitiveness with which the…
The brutal honesty of The Book of Mormon
I’ve seen the hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon twice. Deliciously blasphemous, it is as profound as it is profane. It’s also brutally honest and theologically instructive. Written by the creators of South Park (Matt Parker and Trey Stone),…
Raging at God after my 67-year-old father died of COVID
My dad was a vibrant and healthy 67-year-old when he caught COVID-19 and died a few weeks before Christmas. It was an abrupt and jarring experience for my family. I was left heartbroken and enraged. I was angry at this…
Got questions? You’re not alone.
By Amy Butler Listening to a friend share devastating medical news this week, I sat listening and found myself unable to come up with any helpful or even appropriate response. Thoughts flashed through my mind as if on repeat film…
disinterested religion + the art of unemployment
Occasionally, there are days-and even moments within days-when heavy clouds pull in front of the sun, blocking its light from view and casting everything in the empty parking lot outside my office window, in shadows. A few years ago, I…
In good company (or, the futility of theodicy)
It was the innocence of the twenty youngest victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, all the ages of my son and his first-grade classmates, which made this latest mass shooting most enduringly haunting. Their innocence also underscores the…
Why your church staff burnout
Has the slower US economy stretched our work force too thin and caused higher rates of burn out? According to a new survey, 1 in 5 employees are burned out from their job. The USA Today reported the findings just…