Psalm 14:1-7 But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one! Psalm 14:3 I remember when I first resolved to read through the whole Bible. I was in high school, and it seemed like the godly thing to do. But as I began making my way through Scripture, I kept stumbling upon verses that were unsettling to me. Sometimes what a verse described seemed abhorrent to me.... Read more
by Glynn Young I’m reading the newspaper one Tuesday morning, and there on the obituary page I see a photo with a story about a local retired executive who had died of cancer. I stared. I could barely comprehend the words. I wrote speeches for this man for four years, some of the best speeches I’ve ever written. I loved working for him. He was smart, capable, a quiet kind of leader, and somehow he had managed to work his way... Read more
T. D. Jakes, pastor and businessman, has a long list of accomplishments, growing ever longer. Penguin Group released The Ten Commandments for Working in a Hostile Environment, in which Bishop Jakes speaks practically as both pastor and businessman. In this interview, Jakes talks with The High Calling about being a Christian in the workplace. Read more
by Alissa Wilkinson If you listened closely at my office door during the month of December, you’d hear a bunch of resounding thuds. It’s the sound of stacks of printed final assignments being dropped onto my desk. In the sorts of classes I teach, the lion’s share of grading comes at the end of the term, and I spend a few solid weeks clutching a red pen in one hand and a mug in the other, trying to give every... Read more
by Sam Van Eman I’m convinced that we wouldn’t have so many New Year’s resolutions—kept or unkept—if the stretch from Thanksgiving Turkey Feasts to New Year Ball Drops occurred in, say, August. We’ve packed November and December so full of holidays that this period has turned into one giant year-end party. I like it, of course, sweet potatoes aside. Just consider how effective this period is at setting us up for a fresh start come January 2nd: You stopped watering... Read more
Psalm 77:1-20 But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. Psalm 77:11 At the beginning of Psalm 77, the psalm writer is in a major funk. He is in the middle of some terrible personal crisis, and he is crying out to God for help (77:1). Yet, even when he prays for a whole night, he is not comforted (77:2). I expect most of us can relate to this discouraging... Read more
by Craig Goodwin Editor’s Note: According to Ecclesiastes 3, “There is a time for everything….” Not everything on that list, however, comes to us easily. Some items confound, others liberate, and none of them surrender to our wills entirely. The following article is part of a series that explores the complexity of these 14 poetic lines. The bookends of life in the garden from Ecclesiastes 3 have a deep relevance to me these days. Several months ago, I planted our garden with hopeful... Read more
It seems that Scrooge has hit the new “Annie” remake (starring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhane Wallis, the award’s youngest ever nominee) with a one-two punch, as both bad reviews and a Sony Pictures Entertainment hacking scandal have thwarted high holiday hopes for the film’s opening December 19. Before this gloomy news made headlines, The High Calling talked to the film’s creative executive, Devon Franklin, who is also president and CEO of Franklin Entertainment (a production company in... Read more
by James Calvin Schaap Marquette, Kansas, is offering free land to people who’d like to live there. According to the mayor, thousands have inquired and some have come for a plot. Enrollment in the Marquette school—and the town’s meager population—has risen so healthily that the town will be able to save the school rather than lose it to consolidation. The mayor claims that the town’s offer of free land is “making dreams come true.” Marquette—and they’re not alone on the Plains—is... Read more
Every year I cringe a bit when we dig out the decorations for the holidays. “The season of clutter,” I sometimes grumble. In the end, though, I love it when the tree is lit and the piano is covered with twenty photos of my kids posing with Santa over the years (no kidding, I just counted). My favorite holiday decoration, though, is our Advent wreath, handmade by our kids several years ago at church. In a world of fake trees,... Read more
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