Please visit the Evangelical Portal at Patheos.  It is the wellspring for many of our reflections here, and offers many resources too that never make it over to the blog. One of the items drawing a lot of traffic right now is the first in our new series on “Why Are You an Evangelical?”  In this series we are going to interview a number of people, from pastors and professors to laity and young folks, on why they identify with... Read more

There’s a new piece at Patheos that is a part of the Faith@Work Consultation, on the subject of worldly honors and esteem. Jonathan Dodson (whose essay first appeared at TheHighCalling.org) reflects on the power of worldly esteem to lead us–to seek more worldly esteem.  Worldly honors can become their own trap, when we come to covet them, and when this coveting leads us to change our desires and our behaviors.  Check out the article! Read more

1.  ChristianHistory.net has offered a series of stories on missionaries to the east.  Today they profile another one of the greats: Hudson Taylor.  Taylor left England in 1853 at the tender age of 21; he set himself apart from other missionaries by disdaining their worldliness and choosing to adopt the clothing and styles of the Chinese.  Taylor, in other words, did not believe that he had to “civilize” (read: impart English manners) to the Chinese before he could Christianize them. ... Read more

As mentioned in the Morning Report today, Barack Obama’s poll numbers are sinking at a fairly alarming rate.  They should not seriously concern anyone for Obama’s political future, in my view; approval numbers this far away from the next election contest don’t mean much.  Ever since taking office, Obama has been spending political capital at a swift rate.  As Bush did in 2004, Obama will have abundant opportunity to campaign again and re-present himself to the American people.  (Internationally, Obama... Read more

1.  In yesterday’s Morning Report, I referred to the story of four boys aged 9-13 who bound and raped an 8-year-old girl in a community of Liberian refugees in Phoenix, Arizona.  Stories like this are always horrible, but what is especially noteworthy in this case is the reaction of the parents, who blame their daughter and feel as though she shamed them.  The girl left her home to go to a party, was lured into a storage shed with the... Read more

A reader who comments on my article on executive compensation, “The Executive and the Cross,” refers to the extravagant amounts of money given also to entertainers and sports stars.  I’m glad this was added, since it was something I intended to mention but forgot.  If I should criticize John Thain for making $83M in a single year, should I condemn Tiger Woods for making a similar amount? As explained in the article, it is essentially we who are the market. ... Read more

1.  President Obama explained the reasoning behind his push for health care reform in a prime-time presser last night.  He said nothing new, but presented his argument in his usual smooth and eloquent manner.  The only surprise came near the end, when he took a question on the arrest of Skip Gates in Cambridge, Mass.  His response was not surprising in itself; but it was surprising, especially given how carefully controlled his press conferences are (reporters are chosen in advance... Read more

At the evangelical portal at Patheos, the conversation continues on Christian faithfulness in the secular work world.  Click here to check it out. Two articles are especially worth mentioning today.  The first is from one of my best friends, a man of exceptional talents who has been extremely successful at an executive consulting firm.  He writes about the anguish–and the ethics–of having to fire his employees.  It begins thus: “I will fire four people next month, people who performed well... Read more

1.  One gets the impression that health care reform is at a tipping point.  Either the reluctant moderates will buckle under or be bought off and some reform package (it’s worth recalling that there is nothing complete on the table as of yet, mostly because the Senate cannot figure out how to fund the thing) will pass on a razor-thin margin, or this round’s effort will collapse and we will return to the issue later.  A wealth of commentary has... Read more