Jesus and Justice
It’s hard to fathom that my calendar has flipped through five Mays since the 2020 killing of George Floyd. In some ways, America is in a different place after our collective reflection on matters of race and equality. Still, in other ways, our world is even more divided, especially regarding political realities. As executive director […]
The Ripple Effects of Obedience
I was 10 years old when I first got a glimpse of this thing called agape love. It was the 1960s, and my family lived in the Robert Taylor Homes development, one of the many housing projects in Chicago. Like many tenements in the city, the residents lived with fear of rival gangs and other […]
Not the Letter, but the Spirit
Caught in the act! A phrase that usually leads to accusation, conviction and sentencing. There’s no need for further testimony or deliberation since there are eyewitnesses to the crime and the perpetrator has been apprehended. The account in John’s gospel of the woman caught in the act of adultery seemed like an open-and-shut case to […]
An Apprentice Approaches Advent
It’s hard to fathom that another Christmas is just days away. But clues are everywhere. Full calendars, hurried shoppers, Christmas music and festive lights. Every December also ushers in special traditions for Christ-followers, including the observance of Advent. I love Advent because it shifts our focus from presents to presence, from the weighty efforts of […]
“Play With Me, Mommy”
Every day — usually many times a day — I hear those four precious little words from our 3-year-old, Tobias. “Play with me, Mommy!” He loves, and often demands, the full attention of those around him. This summer, the tables were turned. In July, Cru Inner City gathered its staff from across the nation in […]
Spirited Stand for Peace
Marc Henkel and the group from the Peace Campaign were camped out at the corner armed with water, snacks and gospel literature just as they had been every Friday night this summer when a pop, pop, pop echoed a few blocks away. “We didn’t know if it was gunfire or fireworks,” Henkel, the co-team leader […]
In the Meantime …
As a child, I had to walk 10 to 20 minutes to get to school. In sunshine or rain, sleet or snow, and we had all of that weather. When I was especially cold and wet, or my shoes hurt my feet or I had to go to the bathroom, I would count off the […]
God Likes Me Better
I put my faith in Christ as a child of 10 at a church youth outreach. The gospel was explained to me by a young woman who, along with her husband, would later be a missionary in Peru. I still have the letter she wrote explaining the decision I’d made and encouraging me to continue […]
Victory Blooms Over Death
“Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us — a crucified God — must become our wisdom and […]
The Work of Christmas
Christmas seemed to fly by, and we’re already into a new year. My poinsettias are fading, all the brightly colored lights have disappeared and it’s as if Christmas never happened. Despite my distracted attempts at a personal Advent — in the midst of meetings, letters, doctor’s appointments and illness — I feel that I missed […]