If you are like me, and childhood memories of being bored stiff while your parents observed the Jimmy Carter 55 mph speed limit on the way to who knows where have scarred your for life, then passing the time on a long road trip is more than a minor concern. Maybe that’s why I unapologetically allow our kids to watch movies & play video games for much of the trip. But if your vacation road trip involves long hours in the car, then you’ll need a... Read more
We watched The Goonies as a family last night. 30 years after it first came out and the film still holds up. My favorite thing about this movie is that it celebrates faithful participation in a community that is vulnerable to those with money and power. The goal the kids are chasing isn’t the means to escape their lowly station in life through some kind of achievement or upward mobility. The goal is to be free to live, free to survive. The... Read more
So we are on family vacation right now, and I typically suspend all pretense of eating well during these things. A week or so of culinary hedonism is good for the soul right? I choose to think it is. So when my wife read me an article from the food section at The Huffington Post on the Best 25 Candy Bars of All Time, I was all ears. There are a lot of convenience stores between here & Kansas, so I’m always looking for... Read more
I love the church. I believe in the church. I believe in the church maybe more than I believe in any other thing in this world. The church is the surest sign I know of that God loves everything he’s created; that God is not done with the world. The church is the singular reality bearing faithful witness to the truth that God has not left us here to struggle all by ourselves. God has come for us, to heal... Read more
Many black leaders have been bitterly disappointed that President Obama has not shown more leadership in the arena of race. They might have a point. It’s not as though he hasn’t had the opportunity. From Travon Martin, to Ferguson, to Charleston, the opportunity for a President to actually do something with regard to the issue of race has not been this auspicious since JFK. I must admit I am no better. I am white, educated, and male. I am mostly blind... Read more
Missio Alliance just posted the audio files from their North American gathering held in Alexandria, VA last May. You can find them in the Resources section of their website: www.missioalliance.org. I cannot recommend this resource highly enough, & I thought I’d take this opportunity to post a few thoughts about what I experienced at this gathering. It has been years since I have gone to a seminar or conference—really any wider gathering of Christians—without experience that square-peg feeling. I realize this says... Read more
“Officers… must realize that the public—even a group of non-compliant teenagers—are not an enemy to be vanquished, but civilians to be protected.” – Seth Stoughton I just read a phenomenal article from TPM & Seth Stoughton, a former cop who now teaches at the University of South Carolina Law School, commenting on the latest video evidence of police brutality, this from McKinney, TX. I first saw this video Sunday evening as it was blowing up on Twitter. I had to hide... Read more
One doesn’t have a good vocabulary; one maintains a good vocabulary. Evelyn Waugh was right to say, “One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.” When at their best, writers work diligently at the use of language because we know that language lives at the heart of what makes us human. When at their worst, writers work at language in order to sound impressive or smart or ironic or cynical. I recommend... Read more
“Perfectionism is another way we avoid vulnerability, and it also happens to be my favorite sin… I tell myself that if I do it perfectly every time, then no one can critique me, and I don’t have to feel vulnerable.” Shrink, p. 148. I’m a recovering perfectionist. So every now and then I force myself to read Anne Lamott’s short chapter on the subject from her book, Bird by Bird. Here’s some of what strikes me as wise: “Perfectionism... Read more
Nearly every pastor or ministry leader I’ve ever met operates under the same underlying assumption that their main job is to make their church or ministry grow. This assumption is typically not a conscious thought, although it is in many cases. The assumption is highly operative, and uncritically accepted, even though if you asked them about it, they would likely deny it. Nevertheless it is there, and much of their ministry life is predicated upon that underlying assumption… I have to... Read more
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