Don’t get used to this violence. This not how it has to be. Don't tune it out. Don't try to distract or numb yourself. We have to bear witness to what happened. Read more
Don’t get used to this violence. This not how it has to be. Don't tune it out. Don't try to distract or numb yourself. We have to bear witness to what happened. Read more
What if they kneel because we're not listening? What if they kneel because it's the only way they could get our attention? Read more
The most powerful religion in the Western world is no longer Christianity. It is economics. It can actually be quite instructive to consider economics not as a science or sociology but as a religion, complete with doctrines, priests, and constant references to faith. So says John Rapley in his essay from The Guardian last July. “Think about it. Economics offers a comprehensive doctrine with a moral code promising adherents salvation in this world; an ideology so compelling that the faithful remake whole societies to conform... Read more
What can neuroscience teach us about how to read the Bible? Read more
When I listen to Rich Mullins’ music (and I still listen), he makes me want to go camping. It’s weird, I know, but it always seems like I could more easily imagine the world he imagined if I were off in the woods somewhere … and I really want to imagine the world that he imagined. During his concerts Rich used to joke that his fans really think he lived on the edge of rivers lighting campfires (the cover of... Read more
There’s a theory that contends politicians don’t lead the culture. Politicians reflect the culture. Washington isn’t leading so much as following what they see in us. I keep having these conversations with people in which they trash politicians. At the mere mention of Trump or Pelosi or Washington they immediately wash their hands of all personal responsibility and run down the politicians. It’s Schumer, McConnell, Pelosi, and Ryan–they are the problem. What a bunch of snakes. It’s time to face reality: Our... Read more
“What came first: the music or the misery?” – Nick Hornby I cut my vocational teeth as a musician, part of the band Satellite Soul who was signed to Ardent/Forefront. Where label-mates like Skillet, DC Talk, and Newsboys were exceedingly successful, my band was always critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful. I’ve always wondered why. A few weeks ago I was listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History. The episode is called “The King of Tears.” In it Gladwell tells the story of... Read more
I’ve been avoiding the Nashville Statement. But I finally broke down and read the thing this morning. The plain text is pretty much what I expected. I grew up among evangelicals. I know the rhetoric. The Nashville Statement is full of language that tries to make black and white out of an issue that defies binary characterization. The world is not black and white, but full-color and three-dimensional. A black and white statement like this one could never come anywhere close to... Read more
Meet Larissa Martinez. She was the 2016 valedictorian of McKinney Boyd High School, and is on full scholarship to Yale. She is bright, hardworking, and is a credit to her family and community. She is also in danger of being deported at any moment. She was brought to America with her mother, who was fleeing an abusive alcoholic husband … a few years too late to take part in DACA, as it turns out. Nevertheless, her speech is an inspiring look at what... Read more
Did you know that the entire coal industry employs fewer people than Arby’s? Election year bluster aside, manufacturing jobs are not coming back. The coal industry is not the future of the American economy. The future of the American labor force is in the service sector. Look at the above graph from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Total manufacturing jobs have stayed level for three decades now. The major growth in the labor market comes from service industries … which presents a bit of... Read more
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