Something fascinating about human conversation is not only what people disagree over, but how they express their disagreement. There’s body language to take into account, as well as the level of openness a person has toward controversial topics and relational conflict. A person’s experiences, culture, religion, and political leanings can also influence how an individual…
This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 For almost 35 years I could be described by most well-taught and well-meaning Christians as a conservative evangelical. My ministry training from a predominately White denomination and church Bible school led me to change many of my theological and…
In the tradition of the church I attend, the priest stands behind the altar and says, “This table doesn’t belong to our church or our denomination. All baptized Christians are welcome.” I live in Athens, Georgia. Politically, we are a red city surrounded by a sea of blue. And while my family lives in the…
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 (NIV) I have this thing about minor prophets; they are often the canaries in the coal mine. Everyone does not hear them….
Veritas Words scream out from billboards, from speakers from mouths; And the concrete used to build walls around right and wrong is rough from indecision and movement, crumbling to pea gravel, indecipherably gray stony rubbish. Chesterton claimed “A creed is a collective thing, and even its sins are sociable,” (Chesterton, G.K. What is Wrong With…
In life, disagreements are guaranteed to occur; these cannot be avoided. We face disagreements with spouses, family, friends, co-workers, and those around us. At times, a simple trip to the grocery store can turn into a disagreement when someone takes the parking spot we were waiting for. But what are we to do when the…
This month, our Redbud writers share the books that have changed them. It might be one in particular, or it might be many that have shaped them over the course of their life. These stories are raw and revealing, transparent and touching. Hold them gently.
Grace might be hidden in disappointment. Love might be tucked beside loss. Goodness might be embedded in trials.
I cannot remember a time when the Bible has not had space in my daily life. Because of this it was a reality more than an influence.
Writing as a vocation is not where I expected to be today, but I can confidently say that God has exceeded my expectations in redeeming my pain and causing my story seeds to grow.
Her mystery didn’t just change our experience at a historical landmark. It altered our experience of what it meant to wonder again, to rediscover, and to wander into adventure that we’d previously thought was only for the qualified few.
I return again and again to The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed, though the latter is so raw, there are times I can barely read it. Lewis knew pain, and he didn’t put suffering in a theological box. Instead he left room for it to expand to its full reality and showed how even at its greatest, God’s reach was infinitely more.
Earth is the only physical place we have to call home. God’s call is to take care of it.
After you strive and strive, when you are scared and don’t know where you are going, when voices are loud and you feel like you just have to give up, God will bring you to a place of quiet peace.