This past week, I attended a webinar involving Miguel De La Torre, a theologian and ethicist who holds a professorship at the Iliff School of Theology. I have known of Dr. De La Torre for many years, having first been introduced to him by our former Regional Executive Minister, Larry Greenfield. In his writing and…

The scenario is one any parent is familiar with: one child has inadvertently harmed another. There was no ill will. There may not have even been an awareness that harm was done or that they were involved in any way whatsoever. Their ignorance may be genuine. Their heart may be good. But they still — without meaning harm…

In this season of Eastertide, we are reading from 1Peter. And as the readings there are starting to talk about the manner in which a follower being formed in the likeness of Jesus faces suffering, it seemed appropriate to revisit certain authors who perpetually challenge me: Howard Thurman, James Cone, James Baldwin, Countee Cullen, and…

When she showed me the picture, my face brightened — because that is what you do when a child shows you their creations. It was obviously a person, about that there was no doubt. Who it depicted was less clear. Perhaps a friend? Perhaps someone from a show she watches? Perhaps a family member? “They look…

What a strange week it has been. I returned home from our Easter service to find that while we were celebrating Christ’s victory over death, the president was threatening war crimes on the coming Tuesday, and telling Iran to “Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH!” Then…

Take a moment. Breathe in. Breathe out. Today is a big day. It’s Good Friday, and Jesus will die. That’s the story we remember and we relive each year as we seek to sync our life to the life of Christ. We journey from the anticipation of Advent to the arrival of Christmas, from the…

On Monday, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan (Singapore’s minister for foreign affairs) was interviewed by Reuters about the impact of the Iran war on Singapore and economics. Within that interview, he offered the following historical perspective framed around the concept of a “Pax Americana”: “For 80 years, the US was the underwriter for a system of globalisation…

An Oracle of Ezekiel, with apologies to Clarence Jordan, and his Cotton Patch Gospels: Then I was compelled to stroll down the DuPage River Trail, and the Spirit took me to the river’s edge. It was littered with the bones of thousands upon thousands of the dead. Plants, trees, bushes, thorns, flowers, and all manner…

Whatever might have been in my mind to write about today was blown away with the roaring wind. What is your experience of a windy day like today? Does it worry you? Energize you? Do you hunker down until it is past? Venture out to be buffeted about? Are you ambivalent about it? I doubt…

This morning, I woke up later than usual. I’m one of those people whose circadian rhythms run deep, which made this abnormal but not unexpected given the dim light of impending storms. Making my way downstairs and making my coffee, my mind began to spin up: songs began playing in the background, to-do lists for the…