In the wake of the AME massacre in Charleston, S.C., I’m beginning to wonder if sympathy is a sin. Everywhere I turn I hear sympathy: “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families” or “Lord, have mercy!”
Tragedy of abuse is manifest in ‘Love & Mercy’
Brian Wilson has a tortured soul. Much of his life had abuse from one source or another. His greatest tormentor was his father, Murry. The backdrop of an abusive father informs Love & Mercy, a powerful biopic on the life…
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…
Phil Lineberger “Through a Glass Darkly”
When the phone rang in my hotel room in the middle of the night, I knew. I’d dreaded this call for weeks, begged God that it would never come. Becky, more than a thousand miles away, wept on the other…
Was Jesus insane?
What a preposterous question: was Jesus insane?! Those who are pious Christians may even be offended that such a question is raised. On the other hand, those who are highly anti-Christian may think the answer is obvious: in most likelihood…
Scar-friendly places
Scars have a bad reputation. They’re branded as the bullies on the playground, the bad apples in the barrel, the “Debbie Downer” of the party. We ban them from our conversations. We send them to sit in the corner by…
When her good news makes you feel bad
“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.” – Wayne Dyer I think comparison and competition exist partly because we believe that there is a scarcity of good things in the universe. And that belief makes…
For youth ministers, a challenge dealing with mental illness in adolescents
By Terry Goodrich and Jeff Brumley Many mental health disorders first surface during adolescence, and college and youth pastors are in a good position to offer help or steer youths elsewhere to find it. But many of those pastors feel…