To the best of my recollection, there are only two Christians in the New Testaments whose deaths are explicitly mourned.
The Weight of Pain
April 26, 2023 by
Why does pain almost always seem to weigh more, to have more substance, to impact us more powerfully, than joy? For many people, the moments that have been most life-changing have been, not the moments of joy, but the moments of pain.
A Quiet Life: Living at Peace with One’s Self
April 12, 2023 by
One great embarrassment of Christians is that we talk so much and so loudly. Interviews and conversations of all kinds often remind us of a pride of lions feeding, snapping and snarling, each lunging in for a moment and then getting shoved aside by others.
Connections 02.05.2023: Who Are We to Say?
January 29, 2023 by
For someone who claims to have come preaching to the Corinthians “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (v. 3), the Apostle Paul always seems to me to be very certain.
Invitations to Partake
November 16, 2022 by
Some 25 years ago I sat with a two-person video crew and a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionary on the dirt floor of a simple, one-room house in a small village in the mountains of Albania.
Crossroads: I Know Whom I Have Believed
October 10, 2022 by
When we ask Jesus to be our friend forever, when we tell God that we know that Jesus died for us and that we want to follow God, we are committing our lives to God. We are saying that God knows better than we do and that we will listen to God and follow what God tells us to do. We will act like Christ by following God.
Formations 09.18.2022: Spiritual Worship
September 11, 2022 by
Have you ever noticed the progression in today’s passage? Paul begins with the bottom line: Christians must worship God rightly, presenting our bodies to God as a living sacrifice (v. 1).
Connections 05.01.2022: The Unsaid and the Unseen
April 24, 2022 by
Between Saul’s dramatic conversion and the beginning of Paul’s ministry, the storyteller of Acts records four chapters in which Saul is “radio silent.” We don’t hear the voice of the typically talkative Apostle between Acts 9:20 and 13:10.
Paul’s Reputation as Sexist
March 22, 2022 by
Paul’s reputation as sexist rests on two passages attributed to him. The first is 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, the second is 1 Timothy 2:11-12.
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
January 24, 2022 by
Talk about a time in your life when you had to work as a team with others. Talk about what your role was and how each person had a different role. What were you trying to accomplish?
Crossroads: The Armor of God
August 30, 2021 by
Have you ever seen some of the equipment that comes with playing sports? Football players put on helmets, chin guards, mouth guards, cleats, and shoulder pads in order to protect themselves when they play.
Crossroads: Giving
July 5, 2021 by
One of my favorite stories of giving comes from one of the children at church. At six years old, she received a dollar from the tooth fairy for losing a tooth. But she didn’t use that money to buy something for herself.
Formations 06.06.2021: Conversion, Dramatic or Otherwise
May 30, 2021 by
“I used to drink, get into fights, and run around with loose women. But then, at the age of ten, I surrendered my life to Christ….”
Formations 05.26.2019: Timothy and Epaphroditus
May 19, 2019 by
In the last two years of his life, my grandfather Bill and I often talked about the last verse in the book of Judges.
Formations 03.31.2019: A Living Sacrifice
March 24, 2019 by
The poet Donald Hall, in a documentary for The Atlantic, describes aging as “a ceremony of losses.”
Formations 03.17.2019: Freedom from the Law
March 10, 2019 by
Paul held the torah in high regard. In this week’s passage, he affirms, “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.
Connections 02.10.2019: A Mature Belief
February 3, 2019 by
Like Paul, I have grown as a believer—though maybe in a less dramatic fashion. I was born into the church and attended faithfully throughout my childhood and young adult years. Though I faced plenty of doubt and uncertainty about the things I learned, I can look back now and realize that I was devoutly Christian.
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
July 30, 2018 by
God has given each of us different gifts. Some are called to preach, others to teach, others to make snacks for Vacation Bible School, still others to fix the air conditioner when it breaks.
Formations 05.27.2018: Live by the Spirit
May 20, 2018 by
Unlike many friends and most of my family, I don’t consider myself a news junkie. Mostly, I limit my news intake to one podcast each morning. I trust it to tell me what I need to know…
Formations 11.26.2017: Innocence, Guilt, and Technicalities
November 19, 2017 by
The first time I heard Les Misérables, I was fifteen or sixteen. My mother had picked me up from school. Somewhere between learning it was her favorite musical and the grocery store, I asked her what it was all about. She began with the bishop.
Connections 10.29.2017: Sharing Ourselves
October 22, 2017 by
Shon Hopwood is from a small town in Nebraska. He is also a convicted felon who served eleven years in a federal penitentiary for bank robbery. He was arrested in July 1998 after participating in five robberies over the previous ten months. After being convicted, he went to prison in May 1999.
Connections 10.08.2017: Paul’s Credentials…and Humility
October 1, 2017 by
Paul’s writings can be a tough read. Like many theologians, whether someone relatively close to Paul’s era like Tertullian or someone more recent like Eugene Peterson, he seems to be learning as he goes—making statements, doubling back, almost contradicting himself at times, certain at some points and a bit unsure at others.
Formations 10.01.2017: Freedom Resisted
September 24, 2017 by
As Paul introduces his letter to the Galatians, he speaks of “another gospel” preached in their community. It is, he says, “not really another gospel” but an attempt “to change the gospel of Christ” (v. 7). Paul quickly and assuredly rejects this other gospel so as to preserve the one that “delivered us [set us free,” NRSV] from this present evil age” (v. 4).
Formations 09.03.2017: To Share the World
August 27, 2017 by
In Judson Mitcham’s Oblique Lexicon, the entry, “Gift,” begins with a globe given to two brothers who never asked for it. For most of the entry, Mitcham describes one brother laying on his bed and tossing the globe up and down, hoping that a mountain chain might kiss the ceiling.
Formations 05.28.2017: The Lord’s Will Be Done
May 21, 2017 by
About poems, the poet Richard Hugo says there are two subjects—the triggering and the real. The triggering subject compels the poet to write, but poets must uncover the real subject as they write. Though the triggering subject is necessary for creation, Hugo recognizes that writers’ perceived responsibility to it may stop a poem before it even starts.
Connections 04.09.2017: The Hymn of Christ
April 2, 2017 by
Some commentators say that these verses from Philippians describe Jesus and his mission in the form of a hymn. If so, it is a magnificent and beautiful hymn that encapsulates everything Jesus is and all he came to do. We are supposed to strive for a mind like Christ’s (v. 5).
Connections 04.02.17: No Foolin’
March 26, 2017 by
The day before April 2 is April 1, and that’s April Fools’ Day. I don’t like April Fools’ Day. I don’t like it because it legitimizes lying and cruelty, which I have enough trouble with on the 364 (365 if it’s a leap year) days they’re supposedly considered illegitimate.
Connections 03.26.2017: Living in the Light
March 19, 2017 by
We usually think of light as a positive thing. When darkness falls at my house, I take comfort in the glow of soothing lamps. Both of my girls have small lights in their rooms that stay on overnight. If I’m driving on a dark rural road, I always feel better when I approach city lights once again.
Formations 01.22.2017: Asking Paul’s Questions
January 15, 2017 by
In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the first person Tom Joad meets after leaving prison and hitching a ride with a truck driver is Jim Casy. Joad finds him lying against a willow tree, whistling, and recognizes him as the preacher.
Formations 01.01.2017: Good and Best
December 25, 2016 by
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were willing to give up almost anything to achieve it? You may know parents who scrimped and saved to send their children to college. You may know stories of athletes or artists who spend hour after hour perfecting their skills.
Connections 08.21.2016: Places in our Hearts
August 14, 2016 by
Robert Benton’s 1984 film Places in the Heart takes place in 1935 Waxahachie, Texas. Royce and Edna Spalding own a cotton farm. Royce is also the local sheriff.
Connections 07.17.2016: “Can I Get in Line?”
July 10, 2016 by
Andrew, my five-year-old nephew, is a great source of joy in our family. Born at 29 weeks, weighing about 2.5 pounds, he lived in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital for 65 days before my brother Dusty and his wife Christy were able to bring him home.
Connections 07.10.2016: Privilege
July 3, 2016 by
We hear a lot of talk these days about privilege. Since I’m one of the privileged, I try to take such talk to heart. I try to be aware of my privileged status and of the pitfalls and advantages that accompany it.
Connections 06.26.2016: We Know
June 19, 2016 by
At one point in his 1971 song “Ain’t No Sunshine,” singer/songwriter Bill Withers says the phrase “I know” twenty-six times in a row. He says he intended to write other lyrics, but the veteran musicians playing on his debut album talked him into leaving it as it was.
Uniform 11.29.2015: Teaching God’s Word
November 22, 2015 by
When Paul’s missionary partners Timothy and Silas arrived in Corinth, they found him “occupied with the word” (v. 5; NRSV supplies “proclaiming,” which is not in the Greek text). What was he doing with the word with which he was occupied?
Uniform 11.22.2015: A Pathway for Sharing Christ
November 15, 2015 by
Derbe. Philippi. Thessalonica. Beroea. Athens. And on and on the journey goes. Paul and others made the trip without jets or cars—and probably even without horses.
Formations 11.15.2015: Make Mistakes!
November 8, 2015 by
“Girls can’t be doctors. Girls are nurses, and boys are doctors.” I was used to my students saying weird and silly things, but this one made me spin around fast. My student, E, was confidently explaining to K why she couldn’t be a doctor when she grew up.
Uniform 11.15.2015: From Derbe to Philippi
November 8, 2015 by
The late comedian Mitch Hedberg talked about people who helped their friends move. “I like to help my friends stay,” he deadpanned. I think that one of the basic questions of the Christian life, not to mention of human existence, is whether we should go or stay.
Formations 10.18.2015: SMART Service
October 11, 2015 by
Have you ever tried to break out of a routine that you thought was holding you back? Maybe you wanted to eat healthier, be more active, or set aside more quality time with friends and loved ones. How did you do it? Was it easy?
Uniform 10.11.2015: A Credible Witness
October 4, 2015 by
Few childhood stories have lessons as powerful as that of the boy who cried, “Wolf!” Most of us are familiar with the tale: Assigned with the task of keep watching over a flock of sheep, a boy finds the job boring and thankless.
Formations 10.04.2015: Our Spectacular Bodies
September 27, 2015 by
The human body is capable of so many more amazing, mysterious things than we usually realize. For example, we probably all grew up learning that we have five senses. Guess what? We have a lot more than that.
Formations 08.23.2015: Leaving Isn’t Easy
August 16, 2015 by
About a year ago, author Beverly Gooden started a movement that went viral. She was frustrated and saddened by a popular argument that criticized victims of domestic violence, and she wanted to help the world understand.
Formations 06.21.2015: Legacy
June 14, 2015 by
I’m part of what has been dubbed the “sandwich generation”: people of an age where they’re caring for aging parents while still supporting their own children.
Formations 06.14.2015: Spreading the Word
June 7, 2015 by
Advances in technology and the expansion of social media mean that practically anyone can be not only a consumer of local news but also a shaper of its content.
Formations 06.07.2015: United in Christ
May 31, 2015 by
Like many southern cities, Macon, Georgia has two Baptist churches with the word “First” in their names. The First Baptist Church of Christ, is predominantly white. The First Baptist Church a block away is predominantly African American.
Uniform 05.31.2015: The Greatest Gift Is Love
May 24, 2015 by
The church can and should be a community in which its members experience a taste of heaven right here on Earth. That is so because God is present in the church and where God is, God’s love is.
Uniform 05.17.2015: The Spirit Creates One Body
May 10, 2015 by
J. R. Ewing was shot in his office at Ewing Oil on March 21, 1980 by an unseen and thus unknown assailant. Millions of Americans would spend the next eight months pondering and debating the question “Who shot J. R.?”
Uniform 05.10.2015: Unity in Love
May 3, 2015 by
Paul tells us that love is the strongest bond—greater than faith and hope. He gives us a description of love that seems impossible to attain, though it is definitely something worth striving for.