July 4 is traditionally a big day in this country. But not for everybody. For a lot of people, the promise of freedom described in our country’s declaration is elusive. For persons who must argue for, demonstrate for, and put their life on the line for every policy...
Writing an article about Father's Day is much easier than writing an article about Mother's Day. I have personal experience with fathering. And I was blessed to have a father in my life that I remember fondly. Theologically, the word "Father" is loaded with meaning....
I might as well get this out at the beginning since it's bound to come up at some point. I'm a hypocrite. I try hard not to be a hypocrite, but the truth is that I fail to do what I claim I want to do. Sometimes my actions don't reconcile with my beliefs. I bought a...
Emotions are running high across the world. Here in Michigan, life is searching for normality as the number of new cases of COVID-19 reached safer levels. And a couple of weeks ago, our conversations focused on our hopes for a new normal where systemic equities are at...
Is there a shortage of empathy today? According to Kaitlin Luna, host of Speaking of Psychology, this is precisely what is going on. In a 2019 podcast, Ms. Luna stated that "Concern and care for others' feelings are virtues we seek to instill in our children." But...
Our conversations for the past few weeks centered around the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, where the pandemic is highlighting inequalities in our systems. As a result, groups of people are disproportionately affected. Meanwhile, there is growing tension and...
What does life look like in the new normal? Forgetting for a moment that life is a constant sea of change and doesn’t go backward, will we ever feel like life is back to normal again? We come to the end of our series, Risen, on May 24, and begin a new series titled...
Last week our conversation looked behind some of the biblical metaphors that make scripture applicable in all generations. Labels such as widows, orphans, and foreigners are much more than their simple definitions. They offer powerful lessons for us as we consider...
The Bible is full of metaphors, words that we use as a stand-in to help us better understand complicated ideas. For example, we think of a widow as a person who lost their partner to death. They suffered the loss of someone dear to them. In scripture, a widow is any...
Humans perfected the art of war until it became possible to annihilate staggering numbers of enemies. And now we spend energy and resources trying to keep these destructive tools out of the hands of people who might be willing to use them indiscriminately. These...