Category: Attentiveness

Last week I called a retired missionary who has been protected/imprisoned in a senior housing facility since March.

Wise people noted at the beginning of this pandemic that it would not last forever, but it will last for a period of time. It seems to be lasting a very long time, and it seems to be dragging us down: psychologically, socially, economically and educationally. Spiritually, many are depressed.

Last week I participated in a Veritas Forum gathering on intellectual humility. It was just me and about 500 others on Zoom listening to science professors from MIT and Dartmouth. I was out of my league.

Every day I leave my home I pass a cemetery. This past Wednesday, more than other days, I paused to read some tombstones and reflect on life and death. The ancient Christians had it right. They said it is healthy every day to reflect on your death, if you would live a Christian life. In our contemporary self-absorbed world, such a saying seems ridiculous.

Am I really “attending” worship, or only watching worship on Facebook Live? Has Christianity moved from a full-contact sport to a spectator sport?

There is an old cliché that says doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. It may be overused but it seems appropriate when talking about theological education.

“It is a battle.” This was a strange answer to a question about spiritual formation. I asked Dr. Richard Ray (Presbyterian leader in publishing, pastoring, teaching and college administration) a very important question.

Context is not everything, but it is a lot. The incarnation reveals to us that when “the Word became flesh,” it took on a particular culture, not a universal culture.

Protests over racism. Pandemic. Strategic planning. What does it mean to begin a strategic planning process at a time of social upheaval?

Racism is sin. Like all forms of sin, racism can destroy. And like all forms of sin, it will be with us until Jesus returns.