Archive | Culture

‘Merica | We’re Better Than This

For a country that was founded on the notion of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we’ve done well. In fact, America has become so free and prosperous that we’ve even removed the “A”. We’re now know as ‘Merica—a reality television version of ourselves with schizophrenia. Some days, we see the resolve of the human spirit unite under the concept of faith, hope and love—like the response to Hurricane Florence. But other days, we digress to into fear, division and […]

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Get Better at Life—Not Facebook

I once met a marginally famous author. The experience was underwhelming and unimpressive. This person had a great online persona—they had best-selling books, wrote engaging articles, interacted with readers and maintained a great digital presence. But the truth is, they weren’t a great person. They were arrogant and off-putting. This person was great at Facebook, not at life. That experience was a turning point for me. It left me upset and uncertain. Until that point, this person was a sort-of […]

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Learning to Listen to God

When I recently announced my resignation from ten years in the insurance industry to pursue full-time ministry, there were a lot of questions. Most of the questions were self imposed—questions I needed to wrestle with internally. But many of the questions were from family, friends and coworkers who were curious about the next steps. When you admit that it feels like you’re hearing from God it tends to raise concerns. While most the questions were supportive in nature, many were […]

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Tiger Woods, Second Chances and Grace

After a 5-year hiatus from a PGA victory, Tiger Woods is back on top of the golfing world. This weekend at East Lake Golf Club, Tiger Woods won the 2018 Tour Championship and claimed the 80th professional victory of his illustrious career. Woods was the dominate force on the PGA Tour in the late 90s and early 2000s. He completely revolutionized the game of golf with his powerful swing and fierce competitiveness. But in late 2009, Woods’ life began to […]

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The Four People That We Forget at Easter

The Easter story is a familiar story that many of us have heard since childhood. And we’ve seen it portrayed on countless felt boards in churches throughout the Western world. But I’m afraid it has lost some of its gusto. I guess the felt-board characters haven’t aged very well. Bunnies and chocolates have taken center stage in this modern-day version. Consequently, Jesus gets a casual, “Thank you.” Then, it’s back to life as usual. But this year, I approached the […]

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The Power of Our Scars

When I was a kid, I walked in front of a seesaw swing. The metal corner of the swing caught my left cheekbone, split the skin and knocked me unconscious. I’m pretty sure seesaw swings are outlawed now and if we’d been the litigious type we could have settled with the manufacturer for damages. But I guess some scars don’t make you rich. I still have a vague recollection of the trauma—the bloody shirt of the man who carried me […]

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Billy Graham is Dead. Evangelism Isn’t.

This week, we celebrated the passing of a man known affectionately as “America’s pastor”. Billy Graham was one of the most prominent figures of this generation, and I would argue that he bridged the gap between religion, politics and popular culture better than anyone in history. But there are others who would disagree. In fact, a scathing article ran in Rolling Stone calling him a “shameless sycophant” and credited him with “transforming evangelical Christianity into a patriotic corporate entity”. Opinions […]

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