Helping you become a deeply rooted follower of Jesus

In a recurring dream (or maybe it’s a nightmare?), I find myself back in college during exams week. The registrar’s office has informed me that I am still enrolled in a course I thought I had dropped, and that there’s nothing to be done except take the final exam. The problem is that I don’t know where the exam is being given.

I've heard several self-defense experts through the years suggest that people trust their “sixth sense.” If a situation doesn’t feel right, even if you can’t put your finger on the reason why, it is often best just to remove yourself from the situation. Explanations for this “sixth sense” run the gamut, but the most compelling argument I’ve heard is that a supposed “sixth sense” is just a feeling we get when a situation doesn’t match our pre-conceived notions.

When I talk to my seminary students and pastoral interns about preaching, I often warn them against the sermon whose organizing principle is basically, “Here are a bunch of things I’ve been thinking about related to this passage.” Well, after reading this post, my students and interns will have every right to say, “Physician, heal thyself!” because I want to finish this series by offering a smattering of loosely connected suggestions related to race and racism.

Summer is for the simple joys of sunshine, cold drinks, long nights, and memorable but unremarkable moments with friends and family. So what better season to remind yourself of the simple, and simply staggering, truth that Jesus loves you. More than that, he likes you and wants you to join him around the campfire. There is a spot there for you.

The title of this article is not some attempt at christian click-bait but a question that I have received from several curious Christians who are trying to make sense of our world. Seeing as several people have asked me this question personally I thought there might be a few of you with a similar question. So, here goes a risky foray into the turbulent waters of end times prediction. Let’s get right to it…

Perhaps no year in modern history so parallels the turmoil of 2020 than 1968. The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, the widespread riots, the major cities aflame (literally and socially) with racial tensions, the political turmoil of an election year epitomized by the violence surrounding the Democratic National Convention, the marches and demonstrations against the unpopular Vietnam War—all these were embroiling and dividing America in 1968.

Sometimes developing a relationship with someone feels effortless, but often it takes a good chunk of work. When I look at some of my closest friendships, there are only a few that just clicked. Most of them took years of intentionally hanging out and having deep conversations before we got to where we are right now.

After watching the George Floyd video and seeing the ensuing destruction to our city, the four walls of the house began to feel suffocating. I needed to go for a walk. I buckled my daughter in her stroller, and off my wife and I went. We discussed what we saw and pled with God on behalf of the Floyd family and our nation.