Last night at Willow Randy Travis gave a mini-concert. The place was packed. We are not country fans, but his song on the three wooden crosses was good enough to make it on all kinds of charts, and won our hearts. He then led everyone in a worship song. And then he finished off with Forever and Ever, Amen.So today I’ve had a hard time getting that kind of music off my mind. Randy Travis has quite a story, and… Read more

I’ve been left wandering in my thoughts in my commute of late with a challenge to reach our world and our local communities more effectively. And my thoughts have considered at times how it was that Jesus drew so many to the kingdom. Here’s my conclusion: Jesus had the ability and willingness to establish permeable walls between himself and his world.John the Baptist, by calling people to get purified in the water of the Jordan, and Jesus, by calling people… Read more

In Julia Keay’s new book, Alexander the Corrector, we are introduced not only to a long-standing controversy — was Alexander Cruden mentally unstable or not? — but also to the power of labeling. In this book, which reads like a detective novel, Keay seeks to rehabilitate Cruden from a host of labels and mistakes.Who was Cruden? If you have ever used a concordance to the Bible, and the one you used was a real book (compared to the electronic sorts),… Read more

Can anyone dispute the unimpeachable character revealed in this observation: James Kaplan, who wrote for TV Guide, once said this of Mr. Fred Rogers: “Fred Rogers is more Mister Rogers than Mister Rogers.” Recently read the splendid memoir of her meetings and correspondence with Fred Rogers by Amy Hollingsworth. I’ve had my wonders about Mr. Rogers over the years, assigning him to the shelf of self-esteem gospelers, but after reading “The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers,” I’ve changed my mind… Read more

Everyone believes telling the truth is vital. Until the truth one has to tell is about one’s self, and one has to tell it to God. Read more