My series, Tuesdays with Walter, continues today with a reflection on one simple but revolutionary concept from Chapter 02 of The Prophetic Imagination. If you want to catch up here is part 01, part 02, and part 03. The point of this series is to do a close reading of WB’s great book with an eye toward what it teaches us about leadership. Is there such a thing as prophetic leadership? Last week, I noted that Brueggemann teaches that God... Read more
I went and saw The Lumineers at Liberty Hall in Lawrence last night. It was a great show. If you don’t know their stuff, I highly recommend becoming acquainted. Ever since last night I’ve been pondering what they do live, and I realized that I’ve never really seen anything like it. A Lumineers concert feels like a sing-along at the end of a variety show, something off the Grand Ole Opry if they let the carpet-baggers and hippies take the... Read more
I confess that I’m ridiculously impacted by other people’s opinion of me, and I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever really embrace the idea of just being who I am without trying to manage my own reputation. I confess that I am now worried that the above confession will cause people whose opinion of me I value to think that I’m somehow weak or pathetic. I confess that I love the phrase, “Suck it!”, even though it seems on the... Read more
Les Miserables is one of the greatest artistic expressions of grace and redemption ever created. The novel was written by the great Victor Hugo, who also penned The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The story has been told in nearly artistic medium since it was first published 150 years ago this year. A new adaptation of the stage musical is being developed for the big screen and it looks like it’s going to be amazing. The cast includes Hugh Jackman, Russell... Read more
What Is It About Forgiveness That Ticks People Off? In the wake of the insanely tasteless “Innocence of Muslims” video and the similarly dishonorable outrage and violence of part of the Muslim world, I have been surprise by the response to my response. I think the movie is awful and is probably should be considered hate speech. I’m embarrassed that some of my brothers in Christ have chosen to be that foolish and unwise and they should be disciplined by... Read more
It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s political, it’s sassy, it’s verbose, it’s Hollywood, it’s self-consumed and it’s way overcooked… it’s got to be the West Wing. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: The West Wing is the best TV show ever. The cast reunited for a little PSA regarding non-partisan ballot sections electing judges and officials where party is not a factor – especially a race for Michigan Supreme Court nominee Bridget Mary McCormack. CNN is reporting that the reason... Read more
James Martin wrote a great summary article on the recent study and publication of a text fragment dating somewhere are 350 CE in which it the writer assumes that Jesus of Nazareth was married. Martin, a Jesuit priest, reminds us of the reasons that Christians believe Jesus was not married from the Christian scriptures themselves. This is a 3 minute read that will summarize the whole event well: AT an academic conference in Rome on Tuesday, Karen L. King, a... Read more
Fifteen years ago today my band Satellite Soul had just struggled in off the road after driving most of the night to get back to KC for a gig. We crashed at my apartment and were just waking up at two or three in the afternoon to go to our sound check when we got a call from a friend in Wichita telling us that Rich Mullins was dead. I had never lost a hero before. It was way more... Read more
There’s an interesting article in the New York Times about public opinion on campaign finance. I am convinced that this is one of the more important issues facing our society. Citizen’s United presents the most sweeping challenge to the electoral process since Jim Crow laws. The article says: Americans don’t like all the cash that’s going to super political action committees and other outside groups that are pouring millions of dollars into races for president and Congress. More than 8... Read more
Review of Chapter one: Reality: We have been enculturated, all of us – claimed by our culture and traditioned by it. Even for the church, the culture is our tradition. Cause: Why are we enculturated? Because we have abandoned the Christian tradition, and thus experience a full (or nearly so), loss of Christian identity (we don’t know who we are so we think of ourselves as Americans). Tension: The church cannot reverse this trend by trying to attack the culture.... Read more
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