Just for fun, I started calculating some of the statistics I’ve compiled over the past four years. Maybe it’s the sports writer in me coming out. It’s fun to celebrate, but it’s also important to recognize the cost and sacrifice of an achievement. Every good thing we accomplish in this life comes with some obvious … [Read more…]
“May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!” Psalm 20:4 Shortly after my divorce, I sat in a friend’s living room, chatting about life when the conversation got serious with one simple question: “So what are your dreams now?” I opened my mouth to answer, then shut it. I opened my … [Read more…]
The idea for the pitstop for lunch went like this: “So I don’t know how I feel about this idea, but I am just going to throw it out there —“ I said timidly. “—go ahead,” my carpool friend Emrie Smith encouraged. “— but it looks like Dexter Avenue Baptist Church isn’t far off the … [Read more…]
A professor in one of my classes asked an open-ended question a few weeks ago, and my hand shot right up for my chance to contribute. “What do you do to manage the chaos in your life?” she asked the class, made of adult seminary professionals. She called on me, noting my eagerness. Boldly, I … [Read more…]
I didn’t want to be there. I was outright sulking as we started singing for the vespers service Tuesday night that my classmates and I mistakenly thought we were supposed to attend as part of our class requirement that night. My peers and colleagues had decided to have an impromptu worship service anyway — despite … [Read more…]
The snacks have been packed. The podcasts are keyed up. Lodging accommodations are secured. It’s time once again to hit the refuge of routine and the road. I’m ready to roll. This year is significant for me as I begin my fourth year in seminary, pursing a Master of Divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary. … [Read more…]
Many groups and individuals classify as the “Least of These” that Jesus talks about, but are we actually loving and ministering to and with these folks?
“The hammer of criminal justice is the preferred tool of a society that has run out of ideas.” — Ta-Nehisi Coates This is Part 4 of a 5-part series. Read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3. As part of my weeklong immersion experience through Memphis Theological Seminary’s class “Jesus, Jails, and Justice,” we were … [Read more…]
Sometimes the best thing we can do is to define the very thing we are after, and in doing so, find out our value isn’t the truth of the Gospel.
Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done, says social justice activist Bryan Stevenson. Why is it so hard to believe that?