My first experience with porn was vacuuming cars in my dad’s service station. I was about 10 at the time, and I found magazines under some of the customer’s company cars which had naked women on almost every page. My…
What the Big Bang and wholeness have taught me about Facebook
In the fall of 2009, I finally gave in and signed my life over to Facebook. I figured it would be a great way to reconnect with friends and family. Over time, I began to enjoy sharing my thoughts on…
What churches could learn from Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher
A church is not a business. But churches should not be afraid to explore the best practices of businesses that get the people equation right. Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher offers an inspiring example.
10 ways every church ought to combat sexual violence and domestic abuse
Recently some colleagues of mine and I hosted a four-part series on Baylor University’s campus for survivors of sexual assault and their advocates. We created a space for lament, then silence, next anger, and finally hope. We acknowledged in each…
Yearning for soul
The best leaders engage with the deep trends shaping cultures and our broader world rather than reacting to fads and symptoms. Nathan Jones and I wrote about seven of those trends several years ago, and we still believe they are…
It’s Labor Day. Are you still working on your smartphone?
By Eric M. Eckert You’ve tried to escape it. You really have. But the constant stream of dings and buzzes from incoming texts and emails are just too much to take. And before you know it, you’re scanning your smartphone….
Welcome to the church of the casserole
Many non-mega congregations mistakenly believe they do not have any competitive advantages over a nearby mega church or one of its satellite campuses. Once again they are wrong. Their first mistake is the believing they have to compete. Beyond that…
Truly knowing people simultaneously clears and blurs your vision
This subject, about which I have thought for many years, was stimulated by a recent Pew Research Center study referenced in an article entitled Americans Are More Likely to Like Muslims if They Know One. The research report from Pew…
Robin Williams and the church
As most everyone has heard, Robin Williams died on Tuesday from an apparent suicide. The reaction on Facebook and Twitter was one of shock. How could someone who brought so much joy and humor to the world be so troubled?…