On the first morning of my overseas travel, I went for a run in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A large city park one block from our hotel provided the perfect venue for a very hot, very humid effort, even at 6 a.m. The park was crowded with locals: people running and walking; elderly folks doing Tai Chi; middle-aged women dancing Zumba; Buddhist monks headed to a nearby temple; people buying fresh produce at small stalls set up street side. Even though... Read more
On April 22, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted the first meeting for an anti-Christian bias task force, convened to “eradicate anti-Christian biases” from the federal government. To celebrate the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s reign, faith leaders gathered to worship near the president, gushing on social media posts about the White House becoming a “house of prayer.” The New York Times recently published an article about crosses becoming a “hot accessory” among Trump’s staff, “the jewelry of... Read more
On April 5, I joined people around the nation for a “Hands Off” protest, demonstrating against the current administration in the United States, and the many, many actions they’ve taken to harm humans. While crowd estimates are difficult to come by, some reports put the number at five million who participated in the United States, and in locations worldwide. Since the January 20 inauguration, I’ve felt a certain sense of angst and despair about the cruelty perpetrated on everyone from... Read more
Another week, another scandal, another cascade of lies from the current administration, for whom the truth doesn’t always seem to matter. The revelation that United States administrators, including the Secretary of Defense, were sharing war plans through an unsecured app, and invited a journalist to join in resulted in more spin, and spin, and spin. This includes the president’s press secretary, a professed Christian who stands behind a briefing room dais, where a giant golden cross around her neck, and... Read more
Two weeks ago, the Department of Education launched a portal where concerned parents, students, teachers, and community members could report “divisive ideologies and indoctrination” happening in public schools. From the outset, the intent was clear: the site essentially hosted a snitch form, welcoming people to inform on their neighbors for transgressing the edicts of President Trump, who has demanded that public schools be whitewashed (literally) of any instruction that smacks of diversity, equity, and inclusion. By the time I tried... Read more
Just now, on social media, I read comment strings on my local community pages cheering Elon Musk for taking a wrecking ball to our federal government. While reading the news these days makes me sick and anxious, few stories made me so nauseous as my neighbors, celebrating a billionaire’s seeming ability to wreck institutions that provide international aid, educate children, and protect our national parks. The comments seemed giddy, as if these folks don’t care for the thousands of federal... Read more
Like so many others in my community and elsewhere, I’ve been spinning out with anxiety about the state of our country. Each day’s news cycle brings more chaos and uncertainty and rage-inducing headlines. For the first week (or so) of a new presidency, I was doing okay, holding on to hope, certain that the country’s guardrails would hold, if only barely. But then came the plane crash in Washington, D.C., and President Trump’s inference that women and minorities were to... Read more
This week I begin my 48th semester as a college instructor at a faith-based institution. (I also taught as a graduate student at state schools, so my total teaching tally is nearer to 60 semesters.) At George Fox University, we are encouraged—required, even—to bring our Christian faith to the classroom, and I have cherished the opportunity to openly express my love for Jesus in the vocational space I’ve inhabited for several decades now. The integration of my faith with learning... Read more
In my first election, I chose Jimmy Carter. I was in seventh grade, so my vote didn’t count. But at Hillsboro Middle School in Kansas, a friend and I were vocal supporters of Carter, fighting against the many Mennonite Brethren in our classes who campaigned for Ronald Reagan in our school-wide mock election. We were Mennonites too—seemed like almost everyone in Hillsboro was—but of a different type, and because our parents were Democrats, we vehemently advocated for the Democratic ticket,... Read more
For all of my vocational life, Advent season arrives just as another semester is concluding, and the run-up to Christmas always accompanies the run-down of my courses, with final exams and projects, last-minute meetings, and grading all the things. By the time I close the books on another semester, address any student complaints about grades, and finish projects I’ve put off, I’m wiped out, as are most of my teacher friends. Advent is wound up in weariness for me, every... Read more
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