Category: Church

I’m grateful for Charlie Collier, theological editor at Wipf and Stock, for many reasons, but today I’m thankful he told me to see the move Arrival. He had me when he said it had game theory in it. First off, the movie is great. Like…fantastic. So, if you haven’t seen it, you should. And you…
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If you are in the DC area and interested in a slice of pizza, you might think twice before heading over to Comet Ping Pong. Thanks to an absurd fake news story claiming Comet Ping Pong is a cover for a massive Satanic pedophilia ring frequented by Democratic pols including Hillary Clinton, the restaurant has…
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Most people think they can tell when a process is random. Once, when I was at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse building in downtown Portland (surprisingly to serve as a juror not as defendant) four groups of jurors were called forward to be impaneled. One of the groups was overwhelmingly composed of women. A guy…
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Cooperation seems like a…pretty good thing, right? Like, I grew up on Sesame Street. I know “cooperation makes it happen.” And some of the time Biblical wisdom seems to confirm this general truth. Matthew’s Gospel morphs the rabbinic saying of where two or three are gathered around the Torah the Shekinah rests on them to…
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Two friends from seminary recently shared an incredibly beautiful story about their family. I didn’t know Mac and Katy that well in seminary- they were seniors when I was just starting. I remember Mac the best. He was tall and had this huge, beautiful mane of long, blond hair. Their family now lives in Raleigh,…
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Everything is Waiting for You Your great mistake is to act the dramaas if you were alone. As if lifewere a progressive and cunning crimewith no witness to the tiny hiddentransgressions. To feel abandoned is to denythe intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,even you, at times, have felt the grand array;the swelling presence, and the chorus,…
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When I was in junior high school one day my friend, Jay Wiley, said, “I feel like Taco Bell for lunch.” I stared at him like he was from another planet. We were in Middle School. We weren’t allowed to leave the school grounds for lunch. And I was a good kid. Mostly. I certainly…
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For many years I served my Presbytery by chairing our Committee on Ministry. We were mainly responsible for the caring and feeding of pastors. One of the more fun areas involved working with churches in the process of calling a new pastor. I learned a lot by watching how pastor nominating committees discerned who they…
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“Life is a series of negotiations.” –Erica Ariel Fox, Former Director of Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative From the moment we wake up until the moment our head hits the pillow at night, we move from one negotiation to another. We do this so often, most of us don’t give it a second thought. But we…
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This weekend I’m leading an adult education class at another church about predictable irrationality and politics. I agreed to do this class months ago. When I got back in touch with the guy who extended the invitation, I was like: “Well, I’m happy to come if you still want me…but this election season is so…
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