A long but good study of Obama’s mother by Janny Scott: The photograph showed the son, but my eye gravitated toward the mother. That first glimpse was surprising — the stout, pale-skinned woman in sturdy sandals, standing squarely a half-step ahead of the lithe, darker-skinned figure to her left. His elas­tic-band body bespoke discipline, even asceticism. Her form was well padded, territory ceded long ago to the pleasures of appetite and the forces of anatomical destiny. He had the studied... Read more

David Mills, at First Things, Christ reveals man to himself, not just generically but particularly. He reveals you to yourself. If you truly want to know who you are, look at Jesus, and imitate him as best you can. Any small effort to do what he did makes you a tiny bit more ourselves and removes a little piece of whatever vesture you’ve put on. Taking up your cross, following him, losing your life for his sake: all modes of... Read more

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more

This is the press release from Rochester College about the lectures I will be giving with Miroslav Volf. Streaming: Biblical Conversations from the Missional Frontier (May 16-18) Over the last two decades, Rochester College (in Metro Detroit) has hosted compelling conferences bringing together the best of the evangelical and mainline worlds for a conference on the intersection of theology and life in the church. With past presenters such as Fred Craddock, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Stanley Hauerwas—Rochester College has placed... Read more

From The Economist by W.W.: For many years, Mr Hobby was a staff photographer for the Baltimore Sun. Like most papers nationwide, the Sun was thrown into upheaval by the rise of the internet and was forced to slash costs to remain a viable enterprise. In 2008, Mr Hobby accepted a buyout offer and moved on. To what? To wreaking havoc on the market for the services of professional photographers by starting a wildly popular blog, Strobist, that teaches amateur shutterbugs how to... Read more

Wilfred M. McClay exclaims that forgiveness implies a moral world. There’s too much sloppy back-slapping (self back-slapping at times) about forgiveness. What say you? Forgiveness can’t be understood apart from the assumption that we inhabit a universe in which moral responsibility matters, moral choices have real consequences, and justice and guilt have a salient role. Forgiveness in its deepest sense is something different from “letting go of anger” so that we can individually experience wholeness and healing. It involves an... Read more