What Would Jesus Cut? Bread vs. Bombs
Growing up in the Bible belt in East Tennessee, I can remember an entire campaign built around – “What Would Jesus Do?” There were WWJD bracelets, stickers, and t-shirts.
Today there is a new campaign. As...
Deeper Meanings for Sabbath Keeping
I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood and I knew that Orthodox Jews make a big thing out of observing the Sabbath. Having a day off from the hectic activities of everyday life for some fun and relaxation always se...
What You and Frodo Might Just Have in Common
I can’t be trusted with Christian fiction.
It’s not that can’t be trusted to write it. I can’t even be trusted to read it.
When my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Kraakevik, read our class C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles...
Destructive Donations?
Henry Thoreau once said, “When people come and say, ‘I want to help you', I flee.” I think that what Thoreau was trying to tell us is that sometimes those who, with good intentions, try to help can do a g...
The Myopic Nature of Greed
We have all heard before that money can’t buy happiness. We have all heard before that it doesn’t matter how much money we attain we will always want more. We have all heard before that money management starts ...
National Debt as a Biblical Issue
Two days ago I was interviewed by abcnews.com for a piece the journalist was writing entitled, "National Debt as a Biblical Issue: Did Selfishness Lead to Giant Deficit?" In preparation for the interview I was...
Tired Exhausted Ministry
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” All around me, I see people who are weary. They are weary with the details of life, all the many odds and ends t...
A Good Story: 'I'm Going to Kill You'
I often tell people not to ask me for statistics because in this work all the statistics are bad. Ask me for stories instead, I say, because even in the worst of times I always have a good story. Whether it i...
Let Us Pray. . .Together
A few years ago, a bunch of activist-types and a bunch of prayer-warriors got together to create a prayer book with the goal of bringing together the bible and the newspaper. We were all convinced that praye...
Should Churches Hire Youth or Elderly Care Pastors?
It seems strange to me that churches should show such favoritism to the youth and do little, if anything, for the elderly. When a church adds a new staff member, it is usually someone to work with the young ...