sin

(Not so) Superheroes

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When I was a child, I read the Bible like a child. The only thing that distinguished the heroes and heroines in scripture from the superheroes I saw in Marvel or DC Comics was their costumes. And the comic book heroes were way better dressed than how I imagined their biblical counterparts might have been. Even Joseph’s coat of many colors couldn’t compete with Spiderman’s spandex or Iron Man’s armor. Other than that, though, there wasn’t much difference between, say, Samson and Captain America or Deborah and Wonder Woman. But when I became a man, I had to put away … Read more…

Leadership Requires Character

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Reflections on 1 & 2 Samuel In the opening monologue of the Bible’s most cynical book, Solomon writes, What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new?” (Ecclesiastes. 1:9 – 10). It’s a withering take on the world but I don’t think I can argue with it. Even our trust in technology is as old as that time in Genesis when the people living on the plain in Shinar discovered a revolutionary new building material. … Read more…

It Was My Sin That Held Him There

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Author Carson McCullers was born in Columbus, Georgia, and lived a terribly unhappy childhood.  When she graduated from high school at 17, she left.  Years later, when she was preparing for a rare visit, her cousin asked why she was going back to a place which caused her so much pain.  McCullers answered, “I must occasionally go home to renew my sense of horror.” Communion, the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist – whichever term you prefer — is a Christian’s way of going back.  And we do it for the same reason McCullers did; we need to renew our sense of horror.  We … Read more…