Football is king in Texas. Our pastoral stint in the Lone Star state awakened me to the hysteria that is 6A high school football. With its own Jumbotron and state-of-the-art turf field, the local high school had facilities fit for most small college programs. I watched a future Heisman trophy winner triple-option his way to championships, and former NFL players coach on the sidelines. The school also introduced each new season […]
The church of Jesus Christ is the alternative kingdom to the kingdom of this age. She is the evidence that Jesus has begun reclaiming, restoring and resurrecting what is rightfully his: a people devoted to and pleased by God’s glory (Eph 5.26-27, 32). God shows us through the church he is repairing what has gone wrong with our world through, in and for Christ (Eph 3.8-11). And since we are what’s wrong […]
And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12.17). Abraham Lincoln wrote in 1862 about the Union and Confederacy’s conflict over slavery, “In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong. God can not be for, and against the same thing at the […]
Today is Juneteenth (a.k.a. June 19th). Texas introduced me to Juneteenth during a pastoral stretch in the Republic. I am thankful to reflect on its significance today especially living in one of the more racist regions of the country. A region that has done its fair share of infecting my own heart as well. Abraham Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. In it he ordered the freedom […]
A homosexual agenda is hardly new. By Genesis 19 there was already a community with a well-established homosexual identity. We then read in Genesis 19 about “the men of Sodom . . . both young and old . . . all the people from every quarter” (v4) who demanded their right to gang-rape who they thought were two of Lot’s hunky high school chums. This was no small contingent. It was a multi-generational […]
If navigating the DMV wasn’t stressful enough, they force us to decide whether or not we will be organ donors. Of course, the DMV would not wish a fatal vehicular demise on anyone. But, in such an unfortunate event time is of the essence. If there are organs to be donated they need to be preserved and transported quickly. What better vehicle for that information than our driver’s license. I […]
Is abortion a legal right the state is obliged to protect? The CEO of our local Planned Parenthood organization recently argued just that. Since abortion is “the law of the land,” then Tennessee must make safe abortions as accessible as possible to all its pregnant citizens. As the anniversary of Roe v. Wade approaches, she is lobbying to defeat any and all legislative efforts to restrict abortions. After all, “Ninety-four […]
Every Saturday The Commercial Appeal in Memphis publishes a “Faith in Memphis” section with a “Faith in Memphis Panel.” The editor asks local religious leaders to respond to a current issue in the news. That issue is usually about atonement when Yom Kippur rolls around each year. Yom Kippur is the Jewish “day of atonement” and the holiest day of the Jewish year (Lev 23.27-28). Since the holy day began […]
PFC Bradley Manning was convicted as a national traitor for leaking classified military information. He faces 35 years in prison. Or does “he”? It seems Private Manning has now declared himself to be Chelsea Manning, his long-time inner and true identity. This week he released this statement: As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I […]
“Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward. . . . But Jesus kept silent” (Mt 26.59-60, 63a). Trayvon and Zimmerman are now household names for most Americans. For many, justice was served. For many others, […]