We’re sixteen Republican debates into the election season. By November, we’ll have all whipped ourselves into a vitriolic froth and will have convinced ourselves that the very survival of the planet hinged on the result of the...

Leonard Sweet (author/futurist/theologian) recently tweeted that when Jesus walked the earth, 6000 Pharisees were employed to support and enforce Judaism’s proper expression. The first Biblical mention of the Pharisees was in the book of Ezra. The original Pharisees consisted of scribes and sages...

I’m doing some character research for an upcoming book and have been looking a quartet of characters in Revelation we commonly refer to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Interpreters generally see the four horsemen as personifications of “conquest”, “war”, “pestilence/...

I’ve been through some seasons of doubt and wondering, but at the end of the day I can’t call myself a skeptic. Personality-wise, I’m more of a Don Quixote, a true believer, evidence-be-damned. I know this isn’t fashionable in some circles.  But, if I’m honest with myself,...

Illustration by Jeff Gill Death is a farmer who rises before dawn and eats the same plate of eggs and bacon And drinks bitter coffee from the same ceramic mug that his son bought him when he was in the first grade, just before he joined the Army. The farmer grabs his faded cap and ambles to the...

I was recently up late with some musicians and was helping them tear down their equipment after a gig. Up to this point, it had been a good night filled with food, laughter and dance. The band sounded great. Perfect night. Then, without warning, I found myself in a bad outtake from Almost Famous. One...

I’d never watched an entire episode of Extreme Home Makeover before tonight. I’ve clicked on the TV and caught the last ten minutes where they move the bus and the family sees their brand new home for the first time. I always got caught up in the family’s emotions and found myself welling back...

I recently buried my uncle. It’s the first funeral I’ve ever done within my family. Writing it made me wish I had known Uncle Don better. (I come from a very large family. “Be fruitful and multiply” was about the only commandment our family system collectively got right. Writing...

Michael Vick’s life is unfolding like a Disney movie, just not one with talking dogs, thank you very much. At the time of this writing, Vick possesses the highest quarterback rating and has not tossed a single interception all year. His Eagles are poised to make a run for the NFC East Division Title...

Which is worse: The fear of being misunderstood or the fear of being understood? For Mark Twain, it was the latter. I’m working my way through the first volume of Mark Twain’s autobiography. Clemens had the worst time getting his autobiography on paper. He struggled with the issue of how...