Blessed are those who carry / for they shall be raised. – Anna Kamienska Several years ago, during Christmas vacation, my dad and I were discussing funerals. This is not as weird as it sounds. We were two pastors talking our trade. The conversation turned to my own grandfather’s service, which had taken place twenty-five […]
A Beautiful Paradox: God’s Presence In Our Doubt
This post comes from Abigail Brougher: Jonathan Steingard, the former lead singer for the Christian band Hawk Nelson, recently made national news as the latest Christian figure to renounce or reconsider or renounce their faith. He joins other notable Christian figures like Josh Harris, author of the infamous I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and Marty Sampson […]
A Song You Were Made to Join In: A Review of Jason Isbell’s “Reunions”
This review comes to us from Ryan Stevenson-Cosgrove: On May 15th, Jason Isbell followed up his excellent three album streak with the album Reunions. Much of the press ruminated on the unique sort of challenge his past accomplishments present: what is an artist to do after pulling off near perfection three times in a row? […]
Holy Foolishness: A Manifesto
Grateful for this one, by Christine Havens. Leave it to Shakespeare to introduce the metaphor “wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve” through the words of Iago, one of the playwright’s master villains. He says, “I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws [crows] to peck at” (Othello, Act 1, scene 1), but will […]
11 Beautiful Lesser-Known Hymns for Ordinary Time
Ahh, Ordinary Time… that long dull humid period in the church calendar when livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’, and the cotton is high. Or something like that. For the low-church among us, let me explain: Ordinary Time is a phrase used by Catholics and some Protestants to denote a two-part season in the liturgical […]
Good News That Never Goes Out of Style
Ideas are sort of like clothes. Like when you find a new jean jacket and it instantly becomes your favorite. The fit is impeccable, as if it were designed for only you. You wear it everywhere with pride and are the envy of everyone. The jacket becomes your signature accessory and it assumes an almost […]
The Relief of Comedy
This delightful post comes from Ben Fort: Back in September, a sermon went viral. A British pastor was praised for a grace-filled rebuttal to the burdensome false teachings found in the video of a fellow clergyman. This kind of interaction isn’t surprising to anyone on Christian Twitter, except the debate wasn’t about the Trinity or […]
Glimmers of Hope: Food and the Common Mind
My seed orders arrived right before the plague season got into full swing. Attempts at follow-up orders started running into issues. I decided to ask the only person I know to have created space lettuce, Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds, what it’s like running a seed company during the plague. We’ve heard from Frank […]
Though My Teeth Fail Me, Still My Heart Trusts in You
I’ve never met anyone who likes going to the dentist, but I know for a fact that, for other people, it’s a much more pleasant experience than it is for me. Going to the dentist as a kid used to be exciting — it felt very grown-up to sit in the chair with your bib […]
Enjoy Your Forgiveness
A few years ago an interesting phrase began popping into my head, and it began to have a big impact on me and my thinking. That phrase is Enjoy Your Forgiveness. I want to share a few thoughts about that phrase, along with its origin in my thought process. It was during an Easter season […]
Doing, Being, Asking
This one was written by Kurt Armstrong: Six years ago a friend of mine hired me to replace the front steps of his house, and two days into the job, when I got out of bed in the morning my left knee was so stiff I could hardly bend it. I hadn’t crashed or fallen […]
The God on the Cross: How Christianity Rigged the System
This one was written by David Clay: The second stanza of Weird Al’s affectionate send-up of Amish culture, “Amish Paradise,” opens with the narrator running into some trouble with the “English”: A local boy kicked me in the butt last week I just smiled at him and I turned the other cheek I really don’t […]
