Have you ever noticed the trees for sale at your local nursery, most of which aren’t yet tall enough to reach your shoulder? If so, you know that their roots are compactly housed within small pots of soil not much bigger around than a basketball. As long as the trees are of such diminutive stature,... Continue Reading →
Imagine a woman who rules over an entire nation. From her position of authority she carries out her duties as a spiritual leader, an interpersonal mediator, and a military strategist. Her proficient exercise of power has earned her the respect of the entire nation. The commanders who take orders from her trust in her discernment... Continue Reading →
It’s too bad the Celebrity Pastor Megachurch movement (imaginary NYSE symbol: CPM) isn’t a publicly traded company, because I’d sure love to see the plummeting red arrow depicting its stock price over the last few months. The latest hit to CPM’s value came a few days ago as James MacDonald was removed from his post... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
My wife and I make it to the movie theater about once a year—maybe twice if we’re lucky and have a gift card. But even then, we attend merely as chaperones and financiers, dutifully setting aside our own cinematic preferences in order to allow our eager offspring the rare pleasure of stuffing buttery popcorn in... Continue Reading →
Unfortunately, this script is starting to become familiar. A mass shooting takes place. A group of grieved and angry people react by calling for stricter gun control laws. A second group of grieved and angry people react to the first group by admonishing them not to politicize a tragedy. The first group says, “Well, your... Continue Reading →
Each year, I give myself a reading goal and work hard to meet it. Not because I want to be legalistic and bind myself to some arbitrary bar of achievement. But because I find that a steady, disciplined commitment to spending time in the company of books can often lead to an unexpected array of... Continue Reading →
