Fall is my favorite season. I feel slightly trite writing that, because favorite is so often connected with nothing more than appetite. “I love Sunkist—it’s my favorite.” There’s sometimes precious little behind our “favorites.” There is much, however, behind my affection for fall, and some is worth unspooling here. Fall brings to mind cross country meets in high school. For those who don’t know, cross country meets are one of the more engrossing athletic events. You wouldn’t think so, would... Read more

Why do I say that fall is America’s season? Easy. Here are two reasons. Football—Though I am not a pigskin fanatic, many are. A huge chunk of Americans love college and pro football, each of which run from August to January. There is great psychic satisfaction in football. One roots for a team and becomes part of something larger, a natural inclination of the soul. We want to be part of something larger. And so you have fifty year-old men... Read more

I’ve wanted to write a post about fall for a long time. Why? Because fall is such an evocative season. Nothing provokes more response from us than the changing of the foliage, an annual testimony to the presence of great beauty in our world. Tourists travel, locals marvel, all the world stops for a time to take in the canvas of nature. How ironic it is, then, that leaves descend to the soil at their aesthetic height. Once the processes... Read more

Yesterday’s post got a firestorm of response for this blog: two comments! Whew. I almost didn’t know what to do with myself, but I took a few hours to sort through it all. Here are some concluding remarks on my rather controversial remark of yesterday. I want to affirm wholeheartedly that I am for the inclusion of all kinds of biblical truths in music. Much of the music I listen to on a daily basis is rich with Scripture and... Read more

Something I’ve noticed in my own listening taste is that I often prefer to listen to an artist’s reflections on life rather than their personal interpretation of life. I ought to say right off the bat that I’m not referring here to music sung in the context of a church, which is in itself a unique musical experience. Church music has a particular function, and I wholeheartedly commend both the function and much of the music that expresses it. I’m... Read more

Sorry about the delay in posting. It’s midterm week at Southern Seminary, and I’ve been caught in the undertow. But I’ve resurfaced, and pledge to do better. In thinking about the role that musicians play in society, it has occurred to me that part of what keeps them in business is that they can, at times, express keen insight into the human condition. Though we may appreciate verbal music for its rhythm, flow of words, and lilt, verbal music offers... Read more

Have you thought about the fact that many people subconsciously live outside of their worldviews? Think about how often you’ve heard–or spoken–the words “Nothing really matters here, anyway. We live, we die, we turn to dust. This world is all there is.” Such statements are woven from naturalistic DNA that presupposes that this world is all there is. Spirituality is locked out of it. No logical foundation for magnanimity or grace exists. No greater good can logically be ascertained. The... Read more

The second practical tip to help you look stupid (please recognize the slight irony in all of this) is this: tell someone of your fallibility. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Just try it. You’ll find a freeing sensation in doing so, like the lights went on in a little district of your soul that was in darkness. Go ahead, tell someone how you messed up, how you looked stupid, how you answered a question wrong. Tell them the real reason you... Read more

I was originally going to devote only one blog to my suggested life rule, that of looking stupid occasionally, but I’ve found more to say on the subject. This post gives some practical suggestions on how one can integrate a dose of reality into the life-consuming project of impressive appearance. In other words, here are some tips on fighting misplaced pride and recovering natural humility. The first tip is this: If you get stuff wrong, don’t try to explain it... Read more

I’ve come up with a good rule to help facilitate a happy, comfortable existence on this earth. It’s rather blunt, and it gets right to the point, and as a result it is fairly helpful. Here it is: allow yourself to be wrong. Perhaps this is aimed most directly at men, who tend of the two genders to be the most competitive. Contrary to what some would think, the masculine competitive nature does not die with Little League or high... Read more