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Ongoing Reformation

I agree with theologian Robert McAfee Brown who said: “There has not been a moment in the church’s life when it has not stood in need of reformation, redirection, and renewal at the hand of God” (The Spirit of Protestantism, p. 21).  That was true 495 years...

Overcommitted Can Be Like Uncommitted

Whether it’s the actual truth or not, when someone asks, “How are you doing?” we’re most likely to answer, “Fine.” My guess is that our next most common responses are “busy” and “tired.”   Almost twenty years ago, in her book When Giants Learn to Dance, Harvard...

Rejoice?

In an old Peanuts cartoon, Lucy asks Charlie Brown, “Did you ever know anyone who was really happy?” Before he answers, that effervescent Snoopy dances into the scene—head flung back, ears streaming in the wind, a wide, giddy grin lighting up his face. He vibrates fun...

The Power of Words

If  we  priced and valued words as we do commodities, on the basis of supply and demand, then words would be dirt cheap these days.  There are more words available in the cultural marketplace than ever before: round the clock television news and talk...

Nothing About Ultimate About Politics

On this weekend between the Republican and Democratic National Conventions—a brief pause between “Please like us; we’re nicer than we seem” (the Republican theme) and “Please don’t leave us; we’re doing the best we can” (the Democratic theme)—I am remembering a few...

Enough

When Anne Lamott was expecting her son, Sam, she realized how much she feared that she would be unable to provide adequately for his needs.  She remembered that, during her own childhood, her parents were so cheap that they didn’t keep Band-Aids in the...