John

John the Baptist had no chance at being ordinary—but he takes his outlier status to new heights all on his own.

Vida Dutton Scudder, an early 20th-century radical, points Christians to solidarity and martyrdom.

In the wilderness, trying to find joy can be like trying to make a fire with wet matches.

His followers realized there was no quick exit from the discomfort of his words.

“If John’s christological confessor is also the first person the risen Jesus appears to,” says biblical scholar Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, “that could make her a competitor to Peter’s authority.”

“If John’s christological confessor is also the first person the risen Jesus appears to,” says biblical scholar Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, “that could make her a competitor to Peter’s authority.”

The challenges to unity are great. The reward of unity is tremendous.

Jesus is no ghost; his breath reeks of resurrection.

Jesus is no ghost; his breath reeks of resurrection.

It must have astonished those gathered with Jesus to hear that they were beloved.

God promises never to leave us alone.

We need more than a simple “I love you.” So does Jesus.

C. S. Lewis’s wisdom on looking along a beam of light, not at it

Jesus is the dam that holds us when the levee breaks.

Christianity is, finally, a story in which communication prevails over violence.

Christianity is, finally, a story in which communication prevails over violence.

So I took a new name—as many characters in the Bible do.