Nomadic Book Club Tour is coming to Your Neighborhood: Spring/Summer ‘13
I wrote in Holy Nomad that you can (and probably should) be nomadic from the very same zip code; in the spirit of that idea, I am hoping to join your book club, reading group, small group, or church study for a discussion of Holy Nomad: The Rugged Road to Joy via Skype over the next few months. I am really looking forward to the chance to connect and share our exploration of what...
The Salesman of the Year – The Essence of Real Life
“What is the one thing you would want your kids to say you taught them?” The question was suspended for a minute. I fought the urge to provide an expected answer and finally settled on the first thing that popped into my mind. “I guess it might be to believe they can accomplish anything they set their minds to.” Silence… not what I was hoping for…...
The Problem with Being Nice
I sat in an athletic department office (years ago) as a head coach I was working for sketched plans on a white board and explained how each convoluted detail was essential to his basketball program. The coach was young, inexperienced and very eager to have a winning season. I didn’trealize it at the time, but most of his ideas were dead wrong. The glaring problem of the hour’s...
A Review of Brennan Manning’s Memoir: All Is Grace
I first heard Brennan Manning speak twenty years ago at a college chapel. He bounced around the stage with a shock of white hair and the most God-awful Scotch-plaid sport coat ever blended in a mill, with polyester green pants to match. I remember his illustration of an old preacher who delivered a defining moment in his journey by telling him “Be who you IS, because if you...
The Mystery of the Word
Genesis begins with God speaking the world into existence… “Let there be…” The Gospel of John echoes the story of Genesis in it’s first line: “In the beginning was the Word.” Somehow, before the creation of everything, there were the Words of God. Norman Maclean, in his novella A River Runs through It, writes that there are words underneath the...
Does the Good News Meet Consumer Demands? (Maybe we all need a jesus tattoo)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” I visited a church for a kids’ sports awards ceremony recently. The young pastor at the front faced a room full of strangers who were waiting impatiently with cameras to see their child get a trophy. He promised us that he only needed five minutes of our time (and that it was a matter of life and death)....
Patriotism and Faith – Remembering our Profound Responsibilities
I am a patriotic guy. I enjoy the 4th, appreciate the people who dedicate themselves to serving our country, and am truly grateful for where I live. I have great respect for our Declaration of Independence, memorized the preamble to the Constitution in grade school and occasionally get teary-eyed during the National Anthem. I am fascinated with our history and have deep admiration...
A guy with a chalkboard and the politics of fear
I think I’m like most of you: I vote, I’m engaged in my faith, and I’m tired of being manipulated. We are all a little weary of swimming around in the murky waters of our current political climate. It was with this attitude that I turned on the television the other evening and came across one of the more popular conservative “talking heads.” I stopped...
Finding God in Our Humanity – “Only God Can Save Us Now”
We live in a culture that holds self-reliance in high regard…and there are many good things about that. Generally, people are able to accomplish much more than they believe they can. There are times, though, when self-reliance doesn’t cut it; times when we just can’t make it on our own power. I find when I just can’t seem to make it work under my own strength,...
Faith and Politics: Entering Another Political Season
Surfing through TV channels last night, I came across a debate of potential GOP candidates on CNN. The national election is on the way…whether we are ready for it or not. Over the next year and a half, our 24-7 news coverage will make sure we can observe every candidate appearance – and not just speeches, but every hand-shaking, baby-kissing, on-the-street appearance. The...
Is Facebook a lifeline to Community or an escape from it?
It was well after the Academy Awards that I sat down to watch The Social Network. The movie portrayed computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg as a rather unlikable character that was driven by his longing for acceptance to create this new online platform for connection. It is remarkable to think about the powerful role his offering has played in shaping the fate of the revolution...
Unfinished Ink: Judgement is the Easy Way Out
As my wife and I were leaving a local clothing store the other evening, I noticed something curious. The clerk was very business-like and to the point, speaking in a tired drawl that clearly intimated weariness at the end of a long day of retail customer service. I’ll spare you the details of our entire interaction, other than the fact that I was fixated on the huge tattoo...
“…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...
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...
The Distance Between Who We Are & Who We Aspire to Be…?
Blogging on Mockingbird Mondays has forced me to do something I am sure all writers take the time to do at some point. It has made it a necessity for me to go back through my own book… weekend after weekend. Too often, I come across a thought that makes me pause for a moment. It is similar to the sensation of lingering at the mirror momentarily to wonder if I really am becoming...
Mockingbird Monday – The Story Behind The Mockingbird Parables
Publisher’s Weekly ran a short piece last fall about the publication of The Mockingbird Parables. Honestly, the PW piece is just a teaser for what other authors tell me is a very interesting and unusual story. I thought that I would spend the next several “Mockingbird Monday’s” giving you some background on the many trials the book had before it was finally...
If it’s free it’s for me: The Bigger Issues with Rob Bell’s Book, Yard Sales, & Unconditional Love
One of my friends delights in his disposition toward things that are free. He will drive across town for anything with that moniker attached…from free car washes to free chicken sandwiches. He is the proud purveyor of the phrase, “if it’s free, it’s for me!” Curiously, his inclination toward frugality does not extend to things he “lives in”,...
Mockingbird Monday: What To Kill a Mockingbird Can Teach us about Political Correctness
When Atticus comes face-to-face with the political, religious, and social demon of racism, he does not mince his words. In a conversation with his brother Jack, he calls it “Maycomb’s usual disease”; and when he is forced to confront it at the trial of the black man falsely accused of rape and assault, he calmly and evenly delivers the truth of the accusers’...
Mockingbird Monday: The good Reverend Sykes & what it means to care for our neighbors
Maudie laments that most church people “are so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one…” she continues, “you can look down the street and see the results.” We find a beautiful answer to her commentary later in the book though. One of my favorite scenes in any story takes place when Scout and Jem visit the First...
A New Interview about The Mockingbird Parables from UrbanFaith.com
I recently had the oppurtunity to interview with Urban Faith about The Mockingbird Parables. Here as a short excerpt from the piece: “Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel imparts a story of great significance; its characters leave a lifelong impression on our consciences and hearts. We don’t just read or watch To Kill a Mockingbird; we experience it. Matt Litton...
