1. Tis the season for sickness. B.D. McClay over at The Hedgehog Review got mono, and while the short term result was a bout of feverish nightmares, excruciatingly painful swallowing, thundering headaches, and seemingly unending fatigue, the long term result was this marvelous essay: “The Ills That Flesh Is Heir to.” Her essay is a […]
Moonlighters Anonymous
Moonlighting—also known as working a second job, having a “side hustle”—is a pretty standard theme these days. Thanks to Pinterest and Instagram, everyone’s got a home renovation project, a knack for macramé, and a small business opportunity. But in truth it’s been around forever. Loads of famous people “made it” by moonlighting. The American poet […]
Why You Should Spend Whatever You Like Buying Friends and Loved Ones Gifts They Don’t Expect (and Don’t Deserve)
This one comes to us from our friend Jason Micheli. I’ve grown wary of the Christmas “tradition” of bemoaning the commercialization of Christmas in our culture. Too often, we begin Advent not with Isaiah’s laments or John the Baptist’s words of judgment but our own words of lament and judgment, criticizing others for being so […]
Let's Not Talk About Money (With PZ)
I’ve got stories, good ones, I mean, good ones. Working behind the scenes in church ministry for over a decade, even as a layperson, you build up a huge archive of unbelievable things you’ve seen. I’ve often thought they would make for a good book. Here are a few sample chapter titles: I’m 99% sure […]
Holidaze and the Prime Directive
‘Tis the season. The crush to sell-sell-sell for Thanksgiving starts the swirl of marketing that’s a buzz kill for many, if not most of us. I look at the Starbucks cup on Nov. 1 and I cringe. The essence of our humanity is distorted when it’s objectified in order to market product. The new Starbucks […]
A Free Lunch: The Spiritual Economics of the Church’s Most Cliché Ministry
Another taste of our recent issue on Food & Drink! Order your copy here! The soup kitchen at my church is currently in the midst of a cold war among its volunteers. On one side we have the pro-oil-and-vinegar contingency, armed with organic produce and health concerns; on the other side, the crusaders of ranch dressing […]
Everybody Else's Biggest Problem: American Idol
Welcome to the seventh and final installment of act three of author Ted Scofield’s series on everybody else’s biggest problem but your own. If you missed one or more of the previous installments, the entire series can be found here. Everybody worships … idols. Last time we reached this inevitable and undeniable conclusion, and in it hides the definition of greed. […]
Everybody Else's Biggest Problem: Living in a Material World
Welcome to the fifth installment of act three of author Ted Scofield’s series on everybody else’s biggest problem but your own. If you missed one or more of the previous installments, the entire series can be found here. Nearing the end of our year-long quest to define greed, today we’re going to explore materialism, a logical […]
“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”…and That’s a Good Thing
This one comes to us from SM White. I can’t get no satisfaction…I try and I try and I try and I try…When I’m watchin’ my TV and a man comes on and tells me how white my shirts can be. But he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke the same cigarettes as […]
Everybody Else's Biggest Problem: You Just Can't, Okay?
Welcome to the fourth installment of act three of author Ted Scofield’s series on everybody else’s biggest problem but your own. If you missed one or more of the previous installments, the entire series can be found here. In Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular cyborg is about to kill two innocent civilians in a dark parking lot, […]
Everybody Else's Biggest Problem: The Monster of "We"
Welcome to the first installment of Act Three of author Ted Scofield’s series on everybody else’s biggest problem but your own. If you missed one or more of the previous installments, the entire series can be found here. In Act One of this series we discovered that as a society we cannot agree on a collectively applicable […]
Everybody Else's Biggest Problem: Recap of Act Two
Welcome to the seventh and final installment of act two of author Ted Scofield’s series on everybody else’s biggest problem but your own. If you missed one or more of the previous installments, the entire series can be found here. After establishing in Act One that we as a society cannot agree on a collectively applicable definition […]
