My wife and I have lived in Washington, DC, for the past three years.  Shortly after we moved here, we casually picked up the first season of LOST on DVD.  Drawn by the reaction our friends were having to the show, we thought it would be a good way to unwind at the end of a long day – but at first, it was not that at all.  Enraptured by the strange twists and the desire to learn more about the characters, we would watch anywhere from (at least) 2 to 5 episodes at a time.  Now, shortly before we move from this city, we have wrapped up the series in last night’s finale.  It is certainly a show I would associate with our life in DC, and it has probably enlightened our own definition of the word “lost” while here in this city.Read more

 Do you struggle with envy? Nobody wants to admit this--especially Christians. And yet if you are anything like me, you know what it is like to see another person and covet his looks, his salary, his friends (real, not Facebook), or his talents. Paul may have been speaking of material possessions when he instructed Timothy, "godliness with contentment is great gain," but the application is much more broad. If we are not content with the gifts God has given us then we are, fundamentally, not content with the God who gave us those gifts.

The psalmist's honesty in Psalm 73 is overwhelming. He admits his struggle with envy: "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (v. 3).Read more

When I moved to Western PA the summer of 2004, I thought I was settling in Center Township. I didn’t realize that I was also settling in Aliquippa. Had I known this at the time, I might have been off-put; as it is, I feel that God was locating me here to be part of his unfolding mission of love for this little corner of his world.Read more

Though we may think otherwise from time to time, the heart of the medical profession is very much a mission of sacrifice and service for the sick. And medical school, at least for me, has provided opportunities to explore creative ways to serve the poor and forgotten. Recently, I joined a medical team offering a free Saturday clinic in Laredo, Texas and got a glimpse of what this calling might look like in my life. The organization was called “Hands and Feet” reflecting the fact that as we go out in Christian service, we become representatives for Jesus. In fact, each Christian is a hand, foot (or ear, eye, etc.) in the body Christ (1 Cor. 12), so it makes since that these members been seen out in the world. So, with these feet we walked the streets of Laredo, going door to door inviting neighbors to come get a free check-up or to get something done about that cough.Read more

A few months ago, Marva rang my doorbell. When I opened the door she introduced herself, and told me she was looking for some work to do. She explained that she had done some cleaning and outside work for other folks in my neighborhood, and wondered if I might have something for her. She was sick, she said, and needed money for medicine. She did not look well. She was very thin, and her face was scarred and drawn.

I couldn't think of anything at that moment that I needed, so I asked her what sorts of things she'd done for my neighbors. "I could clean your windows," she offered. And I thought, why not? I hadn't cleaned them in some time, and it couldn't hurt. So I walked outside and circled the house with her, counting the windows and agreeing on a price.Read more

The air hung thick and damp on the back porch of Dawn’s exotic fruit farm on the northeast corner of Australia’s Daintree rainforest. I sat on a plastic chair, one foot crossed underneath me, the other dangling a flip flop above the concrete floor of the brightly colored bed and breakfast. I began to think about what this gracefully aging Australian woman with wayward hair had just told me.
 
“Americans live to work. Australians work to live.”
 
With just three weeks left on my 10-week sabbatical on the underside of the world, I began to wonder if these words were true, and if they should mean something to me.Read more

On a recent flight I sat next to a Phillip Yancey lookalike named Marc. At first blush I thought Marc a sharp and erudite hippie-ish lawyer from Northern California, because he is. As we talked, I learned that Marc grew up in the greater Atlanta area, attended one of the many First Baptists in what used to be town distinct from Atlanta, graduated from Furman in the early 1970s, got involved in Democratic electoral politics. Eventually he became an attorney-lobbyist in California, advocating for affordable rent and low income housing. He is now retired.Read more

Every Thursday, I drive through the back roads of town, park outside of a three story enchanted-looking house, and climb the stairs to the third floor apartment.  In that space, I meet with a familiar group of friends.  After catching up on the events of the week, we settle into a discussion related to a certain Bible passage, usually lingering over the questions that draw us in the most.  Presently, my friends and I are considering the book of Proverbs and discussing its meaning for the individual living within her or his community.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, we have been unable to ignore the pervasive theme of the adulteress in the first several chapters.  But in recent weeks, our discussion on this topic has led us in a direction that we did not expect.  

Instead of analyzing the intricacies of deception or critiquing the ill judgment of the one allured, have we asked ourselves, “How can the church help stem the tide of relational brokenness that we see in the world today?”  In response to this question, one group member noted the intense feelings of loneliness that persist among singles in particular.  Read more

Soundtrack music runs the gamut between trite and smarmy all the way to powerful and moving. There are few times in recent memory when I have been as haunted by a piece of soundtrack writing as I was by Jamie Collum’s theme to Clint Eastwood’s Golden Globe nominated film Gran Torino.
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Grace is funny.  She draws fire from all sides, yet she always prevails.
 
She offends some because when she shows up, she points out the sin she intends to heal and redeem.  She offends others because she gives herself so freely—she really ought to be earned.
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