Do The Fires Make Us Stronger… or Just More Brittle?

It felt like I was taking blow after blow in a fight I didn’t really want but didn’t feel it was one from which I could run. As I was struck across the face with a right hook, it turned my head so that I saw a few friends in the crowd that had gathered.Continue reading “Do The Fires Make Us Stronger… or Just More Brittle?”

Mimicking the Fruit: The Church Is Not an Entrepreneurial Endeavor

Those who grew up in a Christian context, know about the “fruit of the Spirit:” 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control….”  Galatians 5:22-23a The saving work of Christ should naturally result in a particular type of character: the character of Christ. It is not somethingContinue reading “Mimicking the Fruit: The Church Is Not an Entrepreneurial Endeavor”

“How Long Will We Grovel at the Feet of … Power?”

A lifetime ago, I was steeped in the Contemporary Christian Music world and followed closely the output of Michael W. Smith. Late in my following of him, he put out the Go West, Young Man album and the song How Long Will Be Too Long? One of the first lines in the song is: “TellContinue reading ““How Long Will We Grovel at the Feet of … Power?””

What the 2011 Cardinals Taught Me About Life

Do you sometimes feel like you are on the losing end of life? The load has been heavy during these past seven months: a struggling economy, racial tension and violence, the never-ending vitriol of politics. Need I mention the pandemic and the social restrictions associated with it? Things are stressful. Our bandwidth is stretched toContinue reading “What the 2011 Cardinals Taught Me About Life”