Listen to this piece. “We can’t do this alone.” These were the sentiments of my former student and her husband, who moved from Portland to Minneapolis/St. Paul to be involved in a community focused on addressing poverty while taking the vow of simplicty themselves. How do you sustain a justice movement? Stay crazy. But it’s hard to stay crazy if you don’t live among beautifully crazy people who share the same values and who will inspire you and hold you accountable. Hopefully, your accountability partners... Read more

Listen to this piece. I watched Fight Club the other night. It took me several tries to sit down and watch it all the way through. It’s not the easiest film to watch, but it is one of those movies that will be difficult to forget any time soon. Moreover, the story so encapsulates the traumatic experiences of a significant number of men in our society; so long after the memories of scenes from the movie have faded, I will... Read more

This piece was originally published at Middle East Experience on January 1, 2013 and is reproduced here with permission. Challenging Evangelical Assumptions co-authored by Paul Louis Metzger and John W. Morehead Evangelicals face enormous challenges in the pluralistic public square in the 21st century, especially among Muslims. Suspicion and fear of Muslims exist in many quarters as a result of 9/11 and other radical Muslim acts of terror in places like Spain and London and some bad habits about how... Read more

Listen to this piece. Do you look at those you serve as the objects of your good will and charity or as subjects who shape you—even to the point of becoming your benefactors and friends? In discussing this subject with my colleague Beyth Hogue Greenetz, she said it is a lot more difficult to get burned out on serving people when they are your friends. It may very well have been the case that the same Mother Teresa who saw... Read more

Listen to this piece. A tragedy like the mass shooting in an elementary school in an affluent, well-educated community unnerves America. If a tragedy like this had occurred in an impoverished region, it might not have had the same guttural impact. We might expect such mass violence against children to occur in places where education and economic levels are low. As a society, we put a lot of stock in solving our problems through education and economics. While education and... Read more

Listen to this piece. WARNING: Not smoking what you’re selling severely harms you and those around you. This post is not about the legalization of marijuana or what smoking can do to one’s lungs, but about the authenticity of one’s faith. I wish we could make it illegal to smoke anything other than what we ourselves are selling. A while back, I asked one of my seminary classes to reflect upon a movie clip from Walk The Line and to... Read more

Listen to this piece. How is a justice movement sustained? In my first post on this subject, I wrote that first and foremost, a justice movement is sustained by knowing that Jesus alone can and will sustain it. Apart from him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Another key factor that we must realize is that when we serve others we are serving him. What difference might it make to you and me in caring for a sick person, an elderly... Read more

Listen to me read this piece. Perhaps you have seen bumper stickers that read “Jesus is changing the world one individual at a time.” This statement takes into account the very personal nature of Jesus’ engagement of us. Notice how often in the Gospels Jesus engages individuals—Zacchaeus (Luke 19), Mary and Martha (Luke 10 and John 11), Nicodemus (John 3), the Samaritan woman (John 4), the rich young ruler (Luke 18), the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15), the lame man (John... Read more

Listen to this piece. A dear friend and advisor of mine who is African American is battling cancer. As we spoke on the phone yesterday, she told me that “Disease neutralizes racism.” Her statement was based in the reality of her recent experience with fighting for her life, not the result of sterile, idle reflection. While waiting for her cancer treatments over the past several weeks, she has built a bond with other cancer patients and their families in the... Read more

Listen to this piece. Last night as I was driving home, I turned to a classic rock station that was playing AC/DC’s song, “Hell’s Bells.” The menacing tune with ‘for whom the bell tolls’ sounds might or might not be intended to send chills down the listener’s back with talk of Satan’s impending grip on you. Whatever the case might be, the song did not appear to have any grip or impact on what followed: a wide-ranging infomercial and light-hearted... Read more