It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that one of the dumbest things I ever saw was in a church. If you have any familiarity with contemporary Evangelicalism at all, you’ll probably just shrug your shoulders at such a statement and say, “Of course.” Years ago, my wife and I moved to a new area of the country and for a few weeks drove into a nearby city to attend a massive, evangelical mega-church, a real “six flags over Jesus” behemoth.... Read more
Dark clouds gather. Friends stare off toward the horizon and debate what they mean. The only ones who don’t feel that something ominous draws near are those so delusional they insist there are no clouds at all. Nobody listens to them. We know we have entered a dark time and the light is fast fading. People are nervous. They are seeking security. Gun sales are up and everybody knows something is about to go down. People long for a wall,... Read more
Over at Boundless, a web site for Christian 20-somethings, Wendy Alsup writes about the problem of singleness, specifically the problems of women who want to marry but can’t find a man. She begins by telling the story of how she fell into a deep depression after dumping her boyfriend when she was 25. I thought we were going to get married, and the break-up sent me into a deep emotional crisis, probably clinical depression in retrospect, that started right before... Read more
We’re driven. We want to do more, see more, have more. We want to leave a mark, even a temporary one, on this rotten and glorious world. Something keeps pushing onward. And yet, we see that failing to appreciate where we are, what we have already achieved, what has been provided to us by others, is dangerous. We fear missing out, not being there when our kids need us. We wish we could just relax and enjoy that barbecue, read... Read more
The attack on manhood begins early. Those who want to shame men and turn us into lumps of quivering goo know enough to start when we’re young. For evidence, see this romper.com article by Danielle Campoamor. The article captures the attempt to reprogram men’s nature into something that more easily fits within the progressive agenda. Look at how it begins. As a socially conscious person, I make it a point to watch what I say and how I say it.... Read more
The video below made the rounds a few weeks back. The reason is obvious once you watch it. The boy’s instructor does a great job of coaching the kid through his struggle, telling him that it’s okay to cry but that he must push through his feelings and persevere toward his goal. https://youtu.be/rQT4ZCiydFs Part of the video’s popularity comes from the fact that there is a lot of confusion about whether men should cry. The assumption that men believe we... Read more
It doesn’t take too long when you meet some people to know something is off. You just get a weird vibe. Maybe it’s the way they avoid eye contact. Maybe they smile too much. Maybe they just stand awkwardly. Whatever it is, they telegraph problems, and big ones too. Other people are better at hiding it. You have to put a little effort into cracking open their shell before the dark stuff come spilling out. Yea, she seemed put together,... Read more
Women sometimes do terrible things, and Mark Braivo recently posted a story of one such feminine failing. In this post, Mark tells the story of a young evangelical Christian couple. They are devoted to one another. Their love is real, or so it seems. Mark quotes Jake, the guy in the marriage, telling the story: We were both virgins when we got married… We both come from very conservative, religious families in the South. Neither of us has ever lived... Read more
Not long ago, my wife and I took our daughters to see a performance of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Last week, we took them to see Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” on stage. Though at first glance the Beast and Charlie Brown might not seem similar, they share a common disease, one that has infected American men. Despite their outward differences, the Beast and Charlie Brown are woefully insecure. Maybe this is more obvious when you think about... Read more
About two years ago, our littlest one fell down hard. It was a hot day and we were all at the zoo, walking to see the parrots. We aren’t exactly sure what happened. We think she tripped over her own shoes, but anyway, she went down. She whacked her head on the pavement with the force of a hammer driving a stubborn nail. She was screaming when I picked her up. I could see the lump appearing. I handed her... Read more
The Road Home
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