Jack Levison on sending kids back to school: “My mother used to say, without fail, that she hated to see autumn come around. She always felt melancholy when the kids went back to school. Us too. We’ve never wanted them back in the drudgery of yellow buses and seven hours of sitting. So much of school seems to consist of teaching kids to listen for hours on end. Instructing them in the art of large group compliance. Training them to relent. Kids... Read more
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Source Our grandson, Aksel, is a pochemuchka! Read more
A riff on a favorite author of mine: We call a nonviolent man “Lord” and in his name rekindle battles among the nations. We call a poor man “Lord” and in his name determine friends and enemies on the basis of who has oil for us. We call “Lord” a man who told us to love our enemies but in his name make enemies to promote our values. We call a peaceful man “Lord” and then favor those who divide... Read more
From John Frye: Many pastors feel like the pastor in a cartoon I saw years ago. The congregation of people was running fast down the road and the pastor was running far behind shouting, “Wait! Wait for me! I’m your leader!” There is more confusion per square inch in pastoral ministry over the definition of leadership than over most any other topic. I have read the books that set your hair on fire with “choose the hill that you’ll die... Read more
Evangelical Christians, prophetic Christians, and progressive Christians have one thing in common: passion. Passion for what is right and good and just and peace-bringing. Passion often enough leads to a lack of sympathy for those who disagree with those passions. In fact, passion leads to intolerance rather than tolerance. Now ramp this up to the American public. Democrats, Republicans, libertarians, mixed as they are at times with cynicism toward others and ends up “othering” opposing views — Rush Limbaugh and... Read more
From The Smithsonian: Modern archeologists, excavating ancient Egyptian tombs, have often found something unexpected amongst the tombs’ artifacts: pots of honey, thousands of years old, and yet still preserved. Through millennia, the archeologists discover, the food remains unspoiled, an unmistakable testament to the eternal shelf-life of honey. There are a few other examples of foods that keep–indefinitely–in their raw state: salt, sugar, dried rice are a few. But there’s something about honey; it can remain preserved in a completely edible form, and... Read more
Awhile ago I put up a post derived from a collection of essays by Dorothy Sayers published in Christian letters to a post-Christian world and republished a decade or so later as The Whimsical Christian. Although both are now out of print, used copies remain available. Sayers deserves a far broader readership than she receives. She was much more than just a writer of detective stories. Her insights (not to mention her incredible power with the pen) still speak today.... Read more
Sometimes debates about text get so much attention one forgets what the text is all about. It’s like the old “we’re here to drain the swamp not worry about gators.” Genesis 1-2 has been swamped by gators so much there’s no swamp left to drain! That is why someone like Tremper Longman’s study, “What Genesis 1-2 Teaches (and what it doesn’t),” in Reading Genesis 1-2: An Evangelical Conversation, is so valuable for all of us to read — just to remember... Read more
That Dan Gable was the best.ever.by.far, and this article is one serious piece about one serious wrestling dude: On the morning the IOC announced it would drop wrestling from the Olympics, Dan Gable was a continent away, fast asleep. It was dark outside. His wife, Kathy, sat at the computer, waiting on the coffeemaker to start. She scrolled through the Iowa wrestling message boards, and one thread caught her attention. When she finished reading, she hurried to the bedroom. Dan... Read more
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