*Originally Posted January 15, 2015 Make no mistake, there truly are ghosts in Mississippi. Most often, they inhabit long forgotten places and toil with hopes that their mortal lives have not been lived in vain. A few years ago, I first traveled to a forgotten place to meet a forgotten man. “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ and be found in him…”... Read more
*Originally published on January 18, 2015 On April 19, 1961, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a stirring sermon in a most unlikely place. Though not his most famous address, Dr. King’s words to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary or simply Southern Seminary pushed the audience to do more to accomplish racial justice. Delivered to the flagship theological institution of the flagship denomination of Southern Culture, Dr. King would never again give another address like this.... Read more
A few years ago, I had one of the most interesting encounters of my life. I was working as chaplain in a downtown hospital. I was called to a room on the 2nd floor. When I entered the room, the patient was terribly unkempt. The sign on the door said the patient’s name was Frank. So, I went in and struck up a conversation. In the moments that followed, I learned to have empathy in a way that I... Read more
Last night, Christopher Wilkins was executed. An admitted killer of many people, Wilkins was deemed unworthy of life. In the midst of thinking about the killing, I began to think about the many deaths that we cause. Three killings of the vulnerable in my home of Denton, Texas stood out. In each of these homicides, the cause of death was our inaction. I imagine there are many more communities that are responsible for similar inaction. Do we all deserve... Read more
As I sat with my family around our dinner table, I watched the clock. Every second hastened the execution of Christopher Wilkins. Though we interacted multiple times, we weren’t friends. Honestly, I really didn’t even like the guy. I found him to be a hardened evil person. That doesn’t mean I wanted him to die. As the clock drew closer and closer to 6pm, I began to pray for Wilkins. My wife knew what was going on. I know... Read more
A few years ago, I began to write Texas death row inmate Christopher Wilkins. From the beginning, I could tell that Wilkins was very calculated disturbed person. In the midst of such danger, I still made the decision to serve Wilkins as a spiritual guide. After writing for some time, Wilkins invited me to visit him on death row. I will never forget those first few moments. The metal door swung open. Wilkins had his head down as the... Read more
I am. The God of our names is not God. The God of our constructions is not God. The God of our thoughts is not God. God is. God is beyond our names. God is beyond our constructions. God is beyond our thoughts. God is. We will not find God in our names. We will not find God in our constructions. We will not find God in our thoughts. God is. We must leave our names to find... Read more
Back in November, Esteban Santiago was growing increasingly paranoid and traveled to the Alaska FBI office to share that he thought that the government was controlling his mind. From his car, agents recovered a gun. Not long after, local police transported Santiago to a hospital for mental health treatment. About a month later, Santiago picked up his gun. Soon after, Santiago flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to unleash a massacre with the same gun. Now, five people are dead... Read more
Earlier today, a lone gunman opened fire in the baggage claim area of Terminal 2 at the airport in Fort Lauderdale. The sounds were deafening. Bullets repeatedly penetrated bodies. Everybody ran. When the smoke cleared, five people were dead and countless others were wounded. The carnage hasn’t fazed most citizens. In our country, these types of events happen all the time. Shootings are an integral part of our culture. We don’t know how to live unless people are getting... Read more
I pushed the button to get on. The ding alerted me that my ride was here. As I stepped on, I realized that I was entering a space full of sour looking people. The looks on their faces alone would be enough to darken anyone’s day. I always get stuck with people like this on elevators. After we went up a few floors, a man in the back started to sweat. I could tell he wasn’t feeling well. I... Read more
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