Sshh. I’d prefer that you not tell anyone if at all possible. Somewhere along the line I came to realize that I am a flawed person. But it’s not really something that I want others know. Our world demands perfection and people can be really cruel toward those who are anything less. Such a realization […]
I had lunch with a pastor-friend yesterday. Same conversation. Different pastor. I can’t begin to count how many times I have talked with pastors who are frustrated with people in their congregations. Many, I am told, are unwilling to be led, create unnecessary problems, or simply lack motivation to do anything for God. At the […]
Sensational is what we want. Transformational is what we need. Sensational grabs our attention. Transformational often comes without glitter. In one of my favorite movie scenes (from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), Indiana Jones is vying with the scoundrel, Donovan, as they compete to choose the Holy Grail—the cup of Christ—from among a dazzlingly display of […]
If ever there was a person who was an authority of the Christian gospel, it was the Apostle Paul. Author of one-third of our New Testament, Paul penned letters to the churches in Rome and Galatia, both of which have become premiere sources for our understanding of the gospel. Notice how Paul begins his letter […]
Nazis were not nice people. In their quest for world domination, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party intentionally caused the deaths of well over 50 million people. We are not talking just about soldiers killing soldiers. The ultimate goal of Hitler’s “Final Solution” was to annihilate every Jew across the globe. The photo above is […]
“The findings were disturbing….” So goes the beginning of a paragraph in an article about the Pulitzer Prize winning report (Assault on Learning) by the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding violence in the Philadelphia school system. After reading further, I could not help but agree—it is all very disturbing! More than 30,000 serious incidents were reported in […]
Noah Webster once wrote: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe.”[1] And you thought all Noah did was write dictionaries! Webster is also reported to have stated, “Tyranny is the exercise of some power over a man, which is not warranted by […]
Having spent far too much time meticulously watching local news reports out of Pittsburgh, I have come to the conclusion that most of the reported crimes are committed by people wearing dark-colored hoodies. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why someone hasn’t moved to ban them. I think that light and bright-colored hoodies […]
Every time a mass shooting occurs in the U.S., our government leaders rise to the occasion by proclaiming the need for change. Those who are sincere will usually push hard for gun control while ignoring the root causes that have brought such sickness upon our society. Why are our politicians so slow to look at […]
World peace! It is a vision long held by many. Each New Year, it seems, we try to cast off the violence of the previous year like a dog trying to shake off water. Unfortunately, dogs are much more effective in their drying off efforts than we are in our quest to eliminate conflict between […]
