To Kill a Mockingbird Reminds Us That Compassion Holds the Key to Change (Huffington Post)
From political campaigns to prime-time television, our collective desire for change is given lip-service in almost every area of American life. We long for lasting change and cheer it on when we get a glimpse of it: from elections, to Wall Street reforms, to transformations of the biggest loser we yearn to believe it can happen. It is sadly apparent, however, as we surf the Web, watch the news, or read the paper that we are missing the mark — very little has changed in significant...
Mockingbird Monday: A visit to the missionary tea – can compassion begin with confession?
Harper Lee’s harshest criticism of Christian church practice can be found in the missionary tea meeting in chapter 24 of To Kill a Mockingbird. It is the candid scene where the town women gather in the Finchhome to discuss the work of a missionary (J. Grimes Everett) and the recent events of the Robinson trial. The women in this living roompersonify the racism and bigotry they have adopted as part of their religious practice. It can be dangerous when people of faithtake...
Politics aside, do our budget concerns really reflect the Gospel?
While I believe in our responsibility to be active participants in the operations of our republic, I rarely am willing to touch political discussions. At the end of the day, neither political party truly has a Gospel agenda in mind. I am convinced that the great political divides of our day only destabilize the mission of the church and undermine our ability to come together locally and be the hands and feet of Jesus. Political arguments inside the church body only impede our...
Civility and compassion in public discourse? Walking away from the Last Word (an excerpt from TMP)
I listened to a fellow educatorlamentlast week that ourstudents no longer understand how to civilly disagree with one another. I thought about his comment this weekend as I observed the newsfrom Wisconsin and watched the Sunday morning punditsyell ateach otherover the direction of our country’s politics. More than anytime I can remember, we seem to be fighting to have the perfect soundbite, the winning argument, thelast (and loudest) word. I am beginning to think the most...
