(Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr Creative Commons) Last October, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Jordan. It was amazing. In one day alone we went from hiking at sunrise through the ancient city of Petra to trekking through Wadi Rum in the back of beat up old pickup trucks to riding through the desert on camels and then ended the day of amazingness by camping out under the stars with the bedouins. I’m not exaggerating when I say it... Read more

(Credit: Me. I took this photo during Nashville’s Power Together TN March) I was deeply honored to be able to tag along with my wife and daughters to Nashville’s version of the Million Women March On Washington this past Saturday. Despite claims to the contrary from many who did not attend, I did not go because I love killing babies. Nor was that the reason anyone else I know or met went either. I went because I love my neighbors, I want... Read more

(Credit: ColsonCenter.org Screengrab) Recently, The Colson Center created a statement entitled Preserve Freedom, Reject Coercion in which they ostensibly call on the federal government to ensure “religious freedom” and oppose “coercion or censorship of fellow citizens who have different views.” It is signed by many of the sorts of straight white guys people whose signatures you would expect to find at the bottom of such a document, including Franklin Graham, Albert Mohler, John MacArthur, and Eric Metaxes among many others. It’s... Read more

On the wall of my favorite little Persian restaurant in Memphis (yes, there are Persian restaurants in Memphis), there hung a sign. On the sign were written these words, “In the beginning, we make our habits. In the end, our habits make us.” In that spirit, I’ve decided to begin a new habit today. Starting today and every MLK Day henceforth, I want to make it a habit of reading through Dr. King’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail and when my... Read more

The early 20th century French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain once wrote, “If you want to make a Christian work, then be Christian, and simply try to make a beautiful work, into which your heart will pass; do not try to ‘make Christian.'” As you are well aware, there is an entire genre of films known as “Christian movies” that has exploded in recent years as the ability to make a polished, Hollywood looking film (and the ability to turn a profit) has... Read more

(Credit: Phil Renaud, Flickr Creative Commons) You know those update letters people send out with their Christmas cards letting you know how great their year was? I thought about sending one this year. But it would have been…a little different. How different? Well, it would have gone something like this…. How was our 2016? Well, Zack got cancer and spent most of the summer going through chemo, then most of the fall going through radiation. You should see his driver... Read more

(Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr Creative Commons) We recently celebrated my youngest daughter’s first birthday and are getting ready to celebrate my oldest daughter’s third birthday this weekend. Between birthday cake, my eldest daughter’s first encounter with the joys of Halloween candy, and the obligatory trip to the bouncy house, it’s been a fun and exciting time for them lately. But I’m worried about their future. The thought of them growing up – and being shaped – by Donald Trump’s version... Read more

Sometimes I fall through an internet wormhole a discover a whole new world I either didn’t know existed or was in denial of. This is a case of the latter. I know there are plenty of bad Christian books out there, but I try not to think about just how bad they can be because I want to think the best of my fellow Christian writers. But Google makes it hard to do that. Really hard. Don’t get me wrong.... Read more

(Credit: muffinbasket, Flickr Creative Commons) A few weeks ago, my pastor preached from 1 Kings 19. The passage recalls Elijah’s flight for his life after the events on Mt. Caramel and eventual arrival at Mt. Horeb. You know the story from there. Elijah was hiding in cave when an angel of the Lord told him to come outside. There was a great wind, but God was not in the wind. Then came an earthquake, but God was not in the... Read more

(Credit: Twitter via City News Toronto) I’ve really struggled to figure out what to say since I first heard the reports of yet another mass shooting on American soil. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? What statistics could I point to that won’t be ignored yet again by people who refuse to accept the proven fact that gun ownership makes you less safe, even and especially in your own home? How many times can I say that it’s not just... Read more