I just heard that another parent in the privileged enclave known as Highland Park, a small, rich area in Dallas, TX, has objected to one of her little innocents reading David Shipler’s excellent book, The Working Poor. According to the KERA report, the mother in question said, “the book was Marxist and socialist. ‘It’s almost as if they want the children to apologize if they aren’t the working poor, or if they have capitalist ideals.'” Good heavens! Expose one’s children... Read more
OK, churches: here’s the rule: If you are going to change normal worship times for any reason, make it clear on your website that you are doing so. Or better, don’t change them. Not if you want to welcome the stranger in into your place of worship. Twice now in this worship adventure, I have discovered that the church either was not meeting at all or that worship time had been changed for a particular day. Last fall, when I... Read more
Trust serves as the glue that holds any society together. We trust that others will obey the traffic laws, will pay their fair share of taxes, will be faithful to their spouses, will respect one another’s property, will contribute a proportionate amount to the common good. When that trust is betrayed, the wounds go deep and heal poorly, if at all. In 2015, I was in Costa Rica for a Pacific Coast sunset wedding at a small, remote place called... Read more
Heat-induced indolence had taken residence in body and soul after a week in the remote beach town of Samara on the Pacific edge of Costa Rica. Location: about midway down a large peninsula, a two-hour challenging car ride from the four-gate airport in Liberia. Auto traffic on the narrow two-lane road shared space with bicycles, and locals say road construction can shut down the only road in for hours. In the rainy season, it may wash out entirely. We passed... Read more
Please watch the short video: The illustrator and narrator have asked that continually nagging question: How can there be a good God yet all this bad in the world? Above all, this is the question the church must answer. The question and the current response to reject anything smacking of “institutionalized religion” do not erase the human need for divine connection. It does call into question the way God has been perceived and described for millennia. Is God really the... Read more
Mysterious practices, multiple entrances, confusing requirements, authority figures dressed differently with clothing often suggesting power and authority: hospitals and churches have these in common. Another commonality: Both seek to move people from one level of existence to another. From physical illness to health, from unredeemed sinner to saint. And both encounter much resistance on the part of humanity: most resist the hard work of forming and practicing the disciplines necessary for healthy body and healthy souls. These thoughts danced in... Read more
[Note: I am working my way through the process of trying to be approved as a kidney donor for my brother. Part One is here. Part Two is here. Part Three is here.] I have now had my last kidney function test–a contrast dye CT scan. Piece of cake. Afterward, I sat outside on another gorgeous southern California day, watching the people go by. Hordes of what may have been medical school aspirants swarmed past, professional-looking, all in black or... Read more
Note: I am working my way through the process of trying to be approved as a kidney donor for my brother. Part One is here. Part Two is here.] I will be going from labs to meetings to labs and then cap off the day with a visit with a psychiatrist. I will update this post off and on all day. This morning, after my 24 hour urine catch, I start the day with a glucose tolerance test. Of all... Read more
A founding pastor of the Acts 29 network was Mark Driscoll, sometimes called the “bad boy” of the church planting world. Charismatic and gifted, he was widely known for his sex-obsessed profanity. Every Sunday morning, they unload their church from a trailer. Cushioned mats cover concrete flooring for infants and small children; colorful dividers keep the age groups separated. One team unpacks, connects and tests sound and projection equipment. A separate group arrives with the set-up crew for extended prayer.... Read more
[Note: I am working my way through the process of trying to be approved as a kidney donor for my brother. Part One is here.] It’s 5 am. I’ve been awake for a while, knowing I had to arise early and follow the instructions to the letter for this 24 hour urine collection day. It all has to be timed exactly from the first collection to the last. According to the directions, the lab can tell if I didn’t time... Read more
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