The Family is Not a Church – The Church is a Family
For the first time in ages it is a Sunday morning and I’m not in church. My family will have our own church service en route to a much needed holiday. But as we read the word and talk about it, as we...
View ArticleWhy Suicide Has Become an Epidemic and What We Can Do to Stop It
“Self-harm now takes more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. Why are we killing ourselves, and how can we stop it?” That’s the tag line to a haunting article on the subject of...
View ArticleA Pastor’s Response to the Washington Navy Yard Shooting
I’ve been struggling to know what to say, if anything, about the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. I could go on a rant about guns – can we all just agree that an AR-15 shouldn’t be in the hands of...
View ArticleResident Aliens 25 Years Later: Stanley Hauerwas & William Willimon at Duke’s...
I spent the past couple of days at Duke University listening in on conversations between Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon. The event was part of Duke’s annual Convocation and Pastor’s School....
View ArticleScot McKnight’s A Fellowship of Differents Can Change Your View of the Church
Scot McKnight and I noticed a point of resonance in our two most recent books, and thought it would be fun to interact with the other’s work. Specifically, we are attempting to find points of...
View ArticleScot McKnight on Shrink: Great Is The Enemy Of…
Scot McKnight and I noticed a point of resonance in our two most recent books, and thought it would be fun to interact with the other’s work. Specifically, we are attempting to find points of...
View ArticleWhy the Church Is In Decline…
I love the church. I believe in the church. I believe in the church maybe more than I believe in any other thing in this world. The church is the surest sign I know of that God loves everything he’s...
View ArticleA Priest Walks Into a Bar: Why the Pope’s Visit was Good for Congress & Your...
Why are there so many jokes about a priest walking into a bar? Why was it so powerful when Pope Francis addressed a joint session of Congress? Same reason. The premise of the priest-in-a-bar joke is...
View Article10 Ways to Make Your Life Better
I ran across this question recently and it immediately got my imagination going: What are 10 (or fewer) good habits for a person that can make life better? The habit thing seemed constrictive, but the...
View ArticlePrayers Going Out to Jimmie Carter Today
I love the fact that after being president of the United States, starting Habitat for Humanity, a life of active international diplomacy, and a battle with cancer earlier this year, Jimmie Carter still...
View ArticleThomas Merton on Suffering
No Man is An Island is slowly becoming my favorite among the many writings of Thomas Merton. This book is a deep well. Today I was reading from Chapter 5, “The Word of the Cross,” in which Merton...
View ArticleIs Church Membership Still Relevant?
In a world in which a premium is placed on having what we want, when we want it… In a society in which we our constantly told that every need can be met, and every problem can be solved… In a culture...
View ArticleOn the Importance of Disappointing Your Congregation: Now up at HuffPo
A version of the recent post “On the Importance of Disappointing Your Congregation” is now up at The Huffington Post. I have been grateful as I watch the numbers grow on the original post here at...
View ArticleA Less Lonely Way to Lose Your Faith: Isaac Anderson at The Atlantic
My friend Isaac Anderson has an article in The Atlantic called “A Less Lonely Way to Lose Your Faith,” and it’s well worth your time to read. Isaac profiles a community of un-faith in the Kansas City...
View ArticleIs This What Revolution Looks Like? If So, the Church Is Blowing It.
Corporations have slowly, silently, and effectively seized the mechanisms of government, and corrupted them to serve their own needs over and above the needs of the citizenry. What is a Christian to do?
View ArticleReading Resident Aliens for Palm Sunday
If I could require every Christian to read one book about the gospel, the church and what it means to be a Christian, it would be Resident Aliens. This spiritual classic by Stanley Hauerwas and Will...
View ArticleMonday Morning Confessional Returns
I confess that I’ve been a terrible blogger lately. I confess that I have started and then not finished at least three dozen blog posts in the past few months. Usually I write to explore my own...
View ArticleFaith Isn’t Just About Beliefs: Faith is About the Direction You Are Moving...
History always has its thought police–the people who want to force others to submit to their version of the faith. However well meaning, these folks miss a central truth: The trick is not to force...
View ArticleThe Ragamuffin and the Walking Wall
At the Nelson Atkins museum right now, there’s an exhibit by an artist named Andy Goldsworthy called the Walking Wall. Goldsworthy is a world-renown artist who works almost exclusively with natural...
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