Pulled Over
It was late in the summer of 1992. I had moved from Belfast in June and was settling into my life in Minnesota when I saw the flashing lights of a police cruiser pull up behind me.
Review: The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump
With November 3rd, just under five months away, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump serves as an important point of engagement for Christians who seek to be faithful to their calling to follow Jesus Christ in the world and who seek to put their commitment to the kingdom of God ahead of all other allegiances.
I’m always right …
I’m always right, except when I’m wrong. My kids would often protest, “Dad, you always think you’re right!” To which I would respond, “Of course I do, if I thought I was wrong I would change my mind so I could be right again!”
George Floyd - 38th and Chicago a Photo Story
This afternoon I went to 38th and Chicago to so my solidarity with the black community of Minneapolis. I had my camera with me. I had no idea the first event I would shoot after coming off our stay at home order would be a protest of the unjust killing of a black man.
#Black Lives Matter - His name is George Floyd
I don’t get it. I can’t get it. There are many ways in which people are privileged in life and I am most definitely privileged. I am white, male, Christian, affluent, and able-bodied to name a few. In the society in which I live I have nothing going against me and I like it.
The Church is Open!
My heart dropped, my stomach churned, and I was filled with deep sadness last Wednesday when I heard that the Roman Catholic Church of Minnesota and the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod had decided to defy Governor Walz’s order and reopen their church buildings this weekend.
Christians are Globalists, Not Nationalists
Christianity is, by definition, globalist in its perspective. In a world in which nationalism and anti-immigration policies are on the rise, Christianity offers an alternative narrative.
The Siren’s Call
Today white evangelicals in America have heard the siren’s call and shipwrecked themselves on the shores of American exceptionalism and a false vision of the kingdom of God, putting their hope in Donald Trump to win a cultural war that has nothing to do with God’s kingdom while they fight to protect the myth of “Christian America.”
MINIMIZE UNNECESSARY DISTRACTIONS: I’m tired
On January 1st of this year I wrote in my journal, “A simple focus for this year - MINIMIZE UNNECESSARY DISTRACTIONS.” My desire was that 2020 would be a year of clarity.
The Trouble With Normal
I’m not a fan of what our, or any, society counts as normal. I’m certainly not a fan of what is, at the moment, referred to as the “new normal.” We need something more than normal in its current state.
Are We There Yet?
As a kid I would drive my parents crazy. Whether it was on the way to my grandparents bungalow in Portnoo or on the way to the caravan in Portrush I could be heard asking, “Are we there yet?” After a while my sister and I would be bouncing around in the back seat of the car chanting, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Blogging Again
For several weeks I’ve had the words of Bruce Cockburn’s song, All the Diamonds in the World, running as a constant soundtrack in my head. Not all the words are on repeat, but what I’m hearing constantly is,
I ran aground in a harbour town …
In the image of God
The Bible opens with the words, "In the beginning God created ... ." These five words establish a basis for all that follows. As the story of creation unfolds in the poetic language of Genesis it culminates in the creation of humanity. "Let us make humankind in our in our image …