A friend of mine recently commented to me, “Are you aware that you are the only person I know who never, ever trash-talks about their spouse?” There’s a reason for that. I was very, very picky about the person I married – and so was she. Neither of us knew… Continue reading
How can you be a Christian? How can you be a pastor? I suppose, as a socially progressive, academic clergyperson who lives in the Deep South, it is hardly surprising that I get asked these questions…a lot. When someone learns that I teach that the Christian Scriptures are a collection… Continue reading
When I was very young, I quickly realized that popular perceptions of what it means to be a “Dad” did not jive with how my own father went about the job. Every day of my life, I have always known that being my dad was the single most important thing… Continue reading
Many of my friends – all fellow liberals – have been shocked by the vehemence with which I have condemned Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden. Because of my generally liberal politics, their assumption is that I would value the men’s apparent act of conscience – their desire to see… Continue reading
If we spend our lives waiting for that big chance to live out that hope, the opportunity for us to make a “real” difference, we miss the thousands of moments where we could have taken just a tiny bit of hate, anger, bigotry, or ignorance out of the world and replaced it with a little kindness, grace, or wisdom. Continue reading