Random Writings of Questionable Value
Everyone has a different way of reflecting on their year. Goals met, weight lost, places visited, friends made—all that’s well and good. But I prefer to do my reflecting by looking back on what I’ve read. That probably makes me a bit of a nerd. But I gave up on caring about that long ago. … Continue reading My 6 Favorite Reads of 2018
That Sunday morning before I headed out the door to make my walk to the church building, I told my wife goodbye and half-jokingly warned her that it might be my last sermon. I knew the message that day would be controversial, and I was preparing her (and myself) for the fallout. It was a … Continue reading Fear Not, Wanderer
They’re coming. It sounds like the tagline to a new action-horror movie. But no, it’s just another week in American political discourse. As thousands of soldiers are deployed to the southern border, the collective imagination of our country is gripped by the prospect of a coming invasion. The so-called “caravan” making its way through Mexico … Continue reading Caravans and the Communal Conscience
“I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” These beloved words of Jesus have shaped the spiritual formation of countless people who, over the ages, have sought to walk in the way of Christ. They’re inspirational. They’re endearing. They beckon … Continue reading These Fruits Are Made for Pickin’
Have you ever seen a bird fly full-speed into a crystal clear window? He thinks he’s about to enter the luxurious haven of your living room, and he’s wasting no time trying to get there. But then the unexpected happens, and he’s suddenly confronted by an invisible barrier that radically alters his course of flight. … Continue reading When God Has Other Plans
Note: The following is the funeral message for my grandfather, delivered on June 19, 2018, in Leitchfield, Kentucky. One of the more welcome effects of loss is nostalgia. For me these past few days, that has looked like shuffling through my own mental database of memories involving the man the world knew as Hubert Gene … Continue reading The Edge of the Frame
A plot of farmland is its own little universe. Driving past one corn field after another on some vast stretch of Midwestern highway, you may not recognize this fact. But each field boasts an identity as complex as it is unique. Its location, its contours, its soil quality, its surrounding environment, its climate, its ability … Continue reading Listen Up!
A few weeks ago, a small church in Montana made news as a result of its decision to part ways with the Southern Baptist Convention. This announcement came just days after MLK50, a national conference commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King that was organized in part by one of the most prominent SBC entities, … Continue reading The Gospel Has Feet (Part 2)
G.K. Chesterton opens The Everlasting Man with the imaginative scenario of a boy who grew up in a cottage on the slope of an ancient, rolling hill. One day, the boy set out from his home in search of a great adventure, and when he had covered a fair distance, he turned around to discover … Continue reading The Gospel Has Feet (Part 1)
Two. That’s all. If you’re a Bible trivia veteran, you probably know that the Christian Scriptures contain 1,189 chapters. That’s a lot. Read one per day, and it will take you over three years to get through all of them. And yet in this vast, sweeping narrative of God’s work in the world, it only … Continue reading Get Naked
