The Author is with Us
There is nothing like getting lost in a story. I love so many different storytellers: from John Irving to JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis to Stephen King (and yes, Harper Lee)….Stories are deeply affecting–they arehow we define ourselves, our world, and each other. As I was reading through the Gospel narratives of the birth of Jesus this morning, I was stirred by the uniqueness and...
Seeing Advent as an Invasion (while listening to Sufjan Stevens)
Advent is an Invasion. Everything is beautiful this Christmas season. We even have snow on the ground in my neighborhood which is unusual this early in the year, but it really sells the Christmas lights lining the street and makes the holiday feel much closer. I drove home yesterday listening to the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album, musing about the spirit of celebration in the next...
“Fasting” on Black Friday
Our culture’s remarkable dedication to Friday’s “religious” celebration has me thinking back to another story from severalyears ago. (You can read about reports of this Friday’s projected madness here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/22/pf/black_friday/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2) It was a crisp Tennessee day, November 28th, 2008, the Friday after Thanksgiving,...
The Monster in the Closet (Choosing to Trust)
I had a big closet at school. It was the kind of closet that drew co-workers to come and store stuff all times of the day. Traffic was so frequent to the closet that one might have suspected it was a coffee bar or held a keg in one of its ancient cabinets. The closet also contained materials so old it could have functioned as the high school’s time-capsule if the New-Madrid...
Are We Living What We Believe? Are We Busy Stealing Wheelbarrows?
In a sermon several months ago, Pastor Rick commented that over 70% of Americans stilldeclare Christianity as their primary faith. I feel like our culture is rapidly becoming very “post-Christian” and was a little shocked. When I researched the stat later, I found that the Barna group reported a couple of years ago that the population of Christians in our country had...
My Supernatural Radio – the Importance of Finding Quiet
Iattended a tech conference last fall where we discussed the advantages and challenges the rapidly changing avenues of media and communication present to young people in their social and academic development. I also heard a successful college basketball coach remark recently that he has banned cell phones at team functions; he feels that his kids need to focus on interpersonal relationships...
St. Francis & Moments of Surrender
Not too long ago, I interviewed a prominent pastor who kind of scoffed at the idea of “spiritual turning points.” He felt there were too many in his life to count them as particularly significant. I agree that God consistently offers moments in our lives where the veneer of our daily existence is removed and we are faced with a choice to either do what is expedient and...
The Gospel and Zip-lining Over Alligators
Last week, my wife and I met with our friend Kelly in Chicago and were recounting the highlights of our recent vacation. Kelly and I share the common (and irrational) fear of heights. She told us her zip-lining adventure from the week before and I couldn’t help but sit back and laugh at the idea. Little did I know that several hours later I would be coerced into riding to...
Friday’s Five Good Answers: Nashville Singer-songwriter Gabriel Kelley talks about faith, music, his dance moves, and his solo-project with the Cardinals
(This particular Five Good Answers originally ran March 18th, 2011.Since the interview, Kelley successfully raised money for his project and is now busy placing the final touches onthe upcoming album). Born and raised on a farm in Northeast Georgia, Gabriel Kelley grew up living a simple life surrounded by music. In his youth, he left home to travel the country and share his music....
Sidewalk Chalk and the Church (by Chet Bush)
I have been very pleased this week to be able to share with you several blogs from my good friend, Chet Bush. Chet is a pastor in Oxford, Mississippi who is currently working on a book project that I hope to tell you more about in the coming months. I think you’ll enjoy another of his wonderful meditations… Our kids have made friends with some new neighbor children via...
The Fly & Songs Meant to be Lived (by Chet Bush)
Guest blog today from Chet Bush: A fly came to rest on an open hymnal in my study yesterday morning. After dismissing the temptation to slam shut the songbook, I watched the curious little guy perform what seemed to be a grooming of himself, rubbing legs together, then wiping head and wings. He paced staccato-like across “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” covering four...
Friday’s Five Good Answers: Your Questions (for me) about To Kill a Mockingbird and The Mockingbird Parables
As my journey discussing America’s favorite novel comes to a close over the next few weeks, I thought it would be fitting to repost this “Friday’s Five Good Answers” (from April) featuring your questions for me about Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, and my book, The Mockingbird Parables. Thank you again for the wonderful questions! I hope you will enjoy...
Are you living the “Gospel of Self?” Check out Friday’s Five Good Answers with Tim Willard & Jason Locy, Authors of Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society
Authors Tim Willard and Jason Locy met in 2004 while collaborating on a project for the Catalyst Conference. Over the course of the next several years, they became fast friends. Their conversations originally revolved around a mutual passion for music (especially Pearl Jam) and evolved into deeper talks about faith and cultural issues. Jason’s work in the world of design...
“…but I might be wrong.”
I was doing my daily tour of the national newsa few days ago(CNN, Fox, USA Today, etc.) when I came across this wonderful Op-Ed penned by Ian Morgan Cron titled, “Five Words That Could Save the Church”. I have written at length on the unhealthy nature of the discourse currently plaguing faith conversations in the American Church. (See the reaction to Rob Bell’s...
The Grudge
In the fourth grade, I attended elementary school in Olathe, Kansas. In the middle of a game of “freeze-tag”, four classmates surrounded me. The group parted and the leader of the pack (we’ll call him…Barry) walked casually toward me. I failed to anticipate the menacing nature of what was about to happen, something that can only be described as a random act of...
An Interview with Pastor, Social Activist, and Author of Becoming King: Troy Jackson
Troy Jackson, the pastor of University Christian Church (Cincinnati), completed his Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and received his PhD in American History from the University of Kentucky. He was the editor of The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr. Vol. 6: Advocate of the Social Gospel, September 1948–March 1963), has written numerous articlesabout faith...
What should “justice” mean in our lives?
In the last several days, the tragic storms that have ripped across our country and left so many hurting, framed against the unfortunate, misguided (and nationally-publicized) doomsday prediction, have left me thinking quite a bit about the messages we are sending to our cultureconcerning what it means to follow Jesus. It has me considering the space between the way the worldoperates...
It’s the end of the world as we know it… (Maybe in October?)
Billboards were purchased across the country in the last few months proclaiming the end of the world on May 21st at six o’clock. I was texting with a friend this past Saturday and he conceded some confusion as to the intended time zone… we laughed about it a bit. I spent the evening grilling out, watchingthe children play, and listening to tunes on the back porch (yes, R.E.M....
The Story Behind publication of The Mockingbird Parables
I set out to tell the long story of finding a publisher for my first book several weeks ago with hopes that it might provide encouragement for inspiring writers, entertainment for readers of The Mockingbird Parables and enlightenment for anyone interested in the (sometimes complicated) process of publishing a book. We still aren’t certain of all the behind-the-scenes circumstances,...
An interview with the author of Free Book, pastor of Crossroads (Cincinnati) and the man who is working to end generational poverty in his city: Brian Tome
Brian Tome teaching at Crossroads Church (Cincinnati) Brian Tome became pastor of Crossroads in 1995, when a group of friends inCincinnati wanted to create a place for their friends who had given up onchurch, but had not necessarily given up on God. Crossroads now hosts morethan 12,000 people and is actively engaged in combating generationalpoverty in Cincinnati’s urban core...
