From Durham local news:   The Bishop of Durham, Dr N. T. Wright, has announced that he will be retiring from the See of Durham on August 31. Dr Wright, who will be 62 this autumn, is returning to the academic world, in which he spent the first twenty years of his career, and will take up a new appointment as Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Announcing his move,... Read more

James Davison Hunter, in his new book, (To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World ), contends that the Christian Right, the Christian Left and the Neo-Anabaptists are dwelling in an illusion that their approach can change culture. His accusation is severe; his rhetoric is pleasant, but his critique is relentless: these approaches won’t work. Why? I quote something from later and ask you what you think: “But the consequence of the whole-hearted... Read more

This is hard to believe, from Christianity Today: Fox News commentator Glenn Beck will deliver the commencement address at Liberty University’s May 15 graduation. “Beck is one of the few courageous voices in the national media standing up for the principles upon which this nation was founded,” Jerry Falwell Jr., chancellor of Liberty University, said in the school newspaper’s  . The baccalaureate address will be delivered by Paige Patterson, president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, whom Falwell called one... Read more

I’m behind when it comes to recording thoughts on speaking engagements, so I want to return to  the fantastic time I had at the National Student Leadership Conference at Taylor. I was in a group of speakers, including Skye Jethani and JR Briggs and Heather Larsen and I’m sure there were others.  It was an honor to be invited, and it was wonderful to meet some fantastic promising leaders, like Melesa McEwan and Josh Peterson. I hope I got those... Read more

When I posted last week about Jennifer Knapp’s decision to come out and openly tell folks, on a place like Christianity Today, my one and only concern was what folks would say about her. I feared the wrath that would come her way. I did my best to avoid deleting comments and being busy that day made it easier. But I grieved over some of them as I read them later that day. So I want to return, not to... Read more

Studies are now serious about the position we assume most of the day. What do you do? What have you learned? What works best for you? Are our sedentary life styles so pernicious that we need to rethink the current office culture — for example, switch to standing desks or exercise stations or change our work schedules? Or are there ways to stay in the chair 10 or 12 hours a day? … So what do you do if you... Read more

One of our students at North Park University, Drew Daniels, went homeless for 40 days in Chicago. He did a documentary about his experience, which was a powerful learning experience for him, and I want to announce to folks on the West Coast — from Seattle down to San Diego, that Drew will be on the road (on a bike) this summer and hopes to screen his movie and to speak to pastors and to youth leaders and to youth... Read more

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more