To their credit, my two little girls sat patiently as the Cherokee peace chief explained his slit ears, metal breastplate, and high-heeled shoes. On the table in front of him sat a rifle, swan feathers, a clay mug, and other shards of the past. He only stumbled once in his recreation of what happened nearly […]

I love that Paul, the witness to the Gentiles (that’s us), could easily be considered a failure—at least by our standards. How often he trudged into a city, laid out the message of the cross, and then got kicked out or chased away. Never rich, never featured in Rome Today magazine, never more than a […]

In America, rousing a crowd to action often means pointing to inequality or a suppression of rights. We love our justice for all. And to be sure, many such problems deserve our attention as Christians. We should take up the cause of those who can’t fight for themselves. But it’s really a sandy foundation. By […]

I’m dreaming of a day when U.S. immigration policy reflects the values of the Bible. By J. Lee Grady Earlier this year when I was preaching in California, a woman came to the church altar and asked me for prayer. She spoke with a thick Spanish accent…

I gave up on resolutions a few years ago. I’d look up at those lofty goals, get excited for a week at most, and then promptly procrastinate my way through the year. The resolution train got me nowhere. That’s where a life plan comes in. Now, “life plan” and “resolution” may sound dangerously similar, but […]

I don’t often just read the Bible during study. There’s too much conversation going on for simple reading. I’m too busy praying to God and preaching to myself to just scan over the words. I’m not super-spiritual; reading Scripture’s just not a quiet endeavor. You read it, and the words dig their way down deep. […]

I don’t remember the day of the week—so, let’s say Wednesday. My cell phone cracked and spluttered over my brother’s voice, but I understood enough. My mother had stopped her meds again; she’d lied about it; and now she didn’t know her youngest son existed. My family wanted me to talk to her to prove […]