(H/T) We live in a bottom line society. If something isn’t efficient enough, if it doesn’t get the job done, or, most importantly, if it doesn’t make money, we get rid of it or ignore altogether in the first place. Whether in business, church, or just day to day life, many of the decisions we make are based on what’s best for the bottom line, what makes the most sense in light of our resources, or what will be the... Read more

Having kids has a way of changing the way you look at things. Sometimes it emerges in silly ways, like suddenly not being able to make it through a movie like Saving Mr. Banks without letting a few tears slip out. Other times, it’s more serious. Like when I turn on CNN and hear about more than 200 Nigerian girls being ripped out of their homes and threatened with slavery simply because they want to get an education. How do... Read more

(H/T) You may have heard about the awful botched execution in Oklahoma the other day. Many people took it as yet another reason for America to reconsider whether or not putting our neighbors to death actually has a place in civilized society. But not Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler. Al doesn’t want the death penalty to end. Far from it. He wants us to start executing more people sitting on death row. As he explained in his “Why Christians... Read more

At Christmas last year I had the great privilege of baptizing my daughter. It was a deeply meaningful and powerful moment for me and my family. As it is for countless other disciples of Jesus. Except Sarah Palin, apparently. After nearly 7 minutes of regurgitating a barely coherent string of cliche one liners lifted directly from Facebook memes, she tossed out this utterly offensive metaphor to a recent meeting of the NRA in Indianapolis, “Come on. Enemies, who would utterly... Read more

He’s abrasive, crass, and never hesitates to speak his mind. Look, I get it. You might not like him. In fact, you might loathe him. But me? Other than my wife and daughter, there’s nobody I would rather travel the world or share a meal with than Anthony Bourdain. Without even knowing the (hypothetical) destination, I know it would be fascinating and the food, oh the food would be amazing because Bourdain (being the chef that he is) has a... Read more

Meet Mary Beth Webb. She lives outside Pittsburgh, PA and just so happens to be the cousin of the Virgin Mary. Well, 65th cousin to be exact. How does she know? Ancestory.com obviously. She spent a lot of time on the site, a whole lot of time apparently, and discover that she “is the 64th great-granddaughter of Saint Joseph Ben Matthat Arimathaea, who was the paternal uncle to the Virgin Mary.” While I’ve never heard it claimed that Joseph of Arimathaea... Read more

So this story from Time is fascinating to me. And not just because the owners, Bryan and Lanette Davies, claim that God told them to open up a marijuana dispensary. It’s fascinating to me because it raises some really interesting and important questions about how the church can and should respond to the legalization of marijuana. In other words, should churches continue to condemn it outright or make space for it in the same way churches make space for alcohol?... Read more

(H/T) Easter baskets are empty, clothes hampers are full of our Sunday best, and Cadbury Eggs are now 50% at the grocery store (thanks be to God). While Easter Sunday might not leave us with quite the same holiday hangover that Christmas does, if yesterday wasn’t the only day you’ve been to church in the past year and this whole Christianity thing is something you try to take seriously, then perhaps you find yourself waking up this morning thinking, “Well... Read more

I’m in the middle of finishing up graduate school AND I’ve got a new baby at home, which means if I’m going to make time to read a book that’s not required for graduation, it better be a good one. Jonathan Merritt‘s latest, Jesus Is Better Than You Imagined, is just that sort of book. It’s filled from cover to cover with rich, engaging, and powerful stories that leap off the page and make the book all but impossible to... Read more