First Words
The distortions of the God Bless the USA Bible
The conflation of Christianity and American patriotism has never done either one any favors.
Lucilla Goodman and other ordinary saints
Her epitaph, “She hath done what she could,” says a lot.
Limited incentives
Incentivizing good behavior can suffocate morality.
Why do we prize ownership?
Our possessive instinct goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
Patient care means listening to the patient
There’s little excuse for doctors skipping over basic compassion.
It’s time to end our national love affair with guns
Breaking America’s fetish for lethal weapons
Why do we care about the royals?
The monarchy, celebrity, and true greatness
Six predictions for the post-pandemic church
It won’t look the same, but there’s potential for renewal.
Sin is like a suitcase abandoned at the baggage claim
Lent beckons us to claim those forgotten things we’d packed away.
Politics, the pulpit, and my pastoral calling
It’s not easy to avoid the perception of a political motive.
The crumbling myth of American exceptionalism
To believe that moral values and virtuous leadership are self-enforcing is to fool ourselves.
Gratitude, need, and desire
These three stances toward God are the beginning of faith.
Christian liturgy should reflect the unconditional nature of grace
This might mean changing the order of certain elements.
2020 has me thinking about how we experience time
Time ignores our every attempt to harness it.
The beautiful stillness of the Christ child
As the rotating nativity spun, I kept watching Jesus.
George H. W. Bush’s letter to Bill Clinton was a model of respect and solidarity
What will Donald Trump leave for Joe Biden?
The privilege of opting out
And the Christian calling to opt back in
My daughter’s wedding vows made me think about what it means to receive
Taking is possessing. Receiving is a gift.
Loving your neighbor starts with the people on your block
My five-year-old parishioner spent the summer going door to door.
Why didn’t the police show any empathy for Daniel Prude?
Jesus, too, encountered a naked man living with mental torment. He responded quite differently.