Against the Wounds
Warning: There’s a heartbreaking, disturbing image in this one. I was going to write something different today, but I don’t want to anymore. This has been a terrible week, and the words I was going to toss into the air would have felt empty and worthless in the whirlwind. So instead you get this –…
Why I Don't Want to Watch the Hunger Games
Apparently there’s a new trailer for the next Hunger Games movie, and it’s quite exciting. I’ve seen quotes and links and squeals of joy from all across the internet all day. Probably everyone I know is bursting with impatience to watch Catching Fire. Everyone except me. When I see the words “Hunger Games”, a part…
All I Know
“But one last thing,” she asks. “How has Jesus dying on the cross healed you?” A bunch of words bounce through my head, and I’m not sure what to say. We’ve been discussing atonement theory for the better part of an hour, but those phrases are just a bunch of words now. Theological phrases fall…
Why Abuse Is Not Discipline
Warning: I’m going to talk about physical and verbal and sexual abuse. I used to be a big fan of talk radio. I used to drive around Minneapolis in my beat-up two-door Cavalier with a McCain sticker on the back, jamming out to the sweet sounds of Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.…
New Wineskins
I first started blogging almost a decade ago, when I was fresh out of high school and Xanga was cool. There were a lot of pictures and song lyrics back then, because it was 2004 and that’s what one did. When I started that blog, somebody told me that there was no way I would…
The Lily and the Storm
It seems that every new season brings another round of fisticuffs in our nation’s debate about marriage. Inevitably there are strong voices on all sides of the conversation, and I find myself sitting here overwhelmed with the noise of it all. But last week, as the voices escalated once again, a friend sent me these…
When We Criticize the Church
We were sold a package deal. Truth and lies, hope and despair, real and fake – all tied up in a neat package with a bow and sold to us with the label of “Christianity”. The men in the suits with all the words told us that what they taught was true. They said it…
I Don't Want to Be a Christian Anymore
“I think I don’t want to be a ‘Christian’ anymore. Because in the middle of trying to think, talk, and act like a Christian it’s easy to forget to love God and be loved by Him.” – from my journal (2008) Christian. It’s just a word, and words only have meaning because we agree that they…
In the Vacuum
A few weeks ago I got a very kind e-mail inviting me to be part of the A Deeper Story crew. Having admired many of these wordsmiths from a distance, I was thrilled to join them. My inaugural post on Deeper Story is about a depressing Hemingway post (of course). I’ll let you see the…
If My Voice Is Heard At All
If my voice is heard at all, let it be heard whispering hope to those longing to hear. Let it be heard by those who have been sold lies disguised as truth. Let it be heard by those broken hearts who have searched for the Healer for too long. Let it be heard in the hallways…
Beware of Thinking Biblically
If you took all the Bibles in American homes and made one big stack, your tower of Bibles would dwarf Mount Everest a thousand times over. That would be a pretty cool stack, for sure, but it would make it pretty hard to actually read the Bibles. If you took all the Google results for “thinking…
Boys and Dolls: A Father's Response
What would you do if you found your boy playing with a doll instead of a bulldozer? This is the scandalous premise at the heart of a recent Sesame Street clip. As a guy who aspires to Biblical manhood, as a father of two sons, and as a regular viewer of Sesame Street, this debate…
Pursuing Justice ( A Review )
“The truth is, we are all giving our lives away…” Pursuing Justice showed up in my mailbox sometime before Christmas, and then sat on the workbench in my garage for a few months. I’m not sure why I put off reading it for so long – maybe because the idea of reading and reviewing books…
Sex, Lies, and TV Commercials
This is the part of the blog where I write about gender politics as portrayed in Super Bowl commercials. A few years ago I would have thought this was liberal, feminist nonsense. I don’t think so anymore. The Bible tells us that we should not allow the culture around us to influence our mindsets, but…
A Letter to the Applebee's Waitress
Dear Chelsea, You’ve had a rough week. First, there was that pastor who visited your restaurant and decided that, because she gives God 10%, she should be excempt from the 18% gratuity on her bill. Even though you weren’t Paster Bell’s server, it’s infuriating to see that kind of disrespect from guests. When she was…
