Tonight at church the age old questions of “Why do bad things happen?” came up in regard to Haiti. It’s a tough one to answer.  Our group of very sharp, philosophical, theological college students struggled with it for over an hour, and after I left some were still planning on continuing...

If you’re one of those “it’s all going to burn up anyway” Christians, in love with your dispensationalism, there’s a good chance you’ll be eating a big slab of meat tonight, cooked over a fire (maybe burn a few California Redwoods?), complemented by a pesticide laced...

“I’m sure God sent them to us.” Politicians love to claim credit for the big – and best – changes of history. Life is rarely so simple. There are those odd little movements like twitches on obscure nerve endings that end up reverberating throughout cultures and eras. The twentieth...

A couple of things have happened in the last few months that’ve made me rethink the ideal of an effective leader, specifically when it comes to a powerful and respected political office like, say, the President of the United States. In October, President Obama was awarded an honor usually reserved...

Most of our attention is focused on Haiti these days – with good reason – but life goes on in other parts of the world with striking consistency. Soon after listening to the President’s speech on Afghanistan this December, and even before, I found messages in my email from organizations...

Over the holidays I spent a glorious three days with one of my oldest and dearest friends and her husband. In the midst of our catching up she mentioned that we had to go pick up Justin. I asked her who he was and she told me the story of their meeting. He was a seven year old that went to school with...

In the past couple of weeks, the staggering images from the demolishing earthquake in Haiti have melted our hearts. And as Americans, we quickly search for ways to help, even from a distance of over 2000 miles. However, in order to fully grasp the challenges that lie ahead, it is important to better...

I carried a sack of gifts as I made my way down the dirty streets to the homes where the gifts belonged.  Dogs barked at me from their pens while roosters casually strutted by.  Skulls and other decorations still adorned some homes from El Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, and Spanish music played...

I bought this T-shirt and it’s been kind of an albatross to me. I love the shirt but it’s the attention it attracts that frustrates me. It’s a red T that says “2 Weeks” on the front in bold white letters. Every time I wear it someone, or many someones, ask me, “Hey, Brian, what’s in two...

The horrifying devastation that was unleashed in Haiti following the January 12th earthquake has shocked us all.  Relief groups have mobilized, people are praying and donating money, and many people are also asking questions.  Why has this happened?  What can we do about it right now?  Can we do...