Month: May 2018

Western Europe’s Christians Are as Religious as America’s ‘Nones’

This story is published in full at Christianity Today Religiously unaffiliated Americans are, unsurprisingly, less likely than their Christian countrymen to attend church regularly or say religion is important in their lives. However, on several common measures,...

/ May 31, 2018

Writing Tracker – Week 21 (May 20 – 26)

Writers write. That’s the bottom line. I’m going to blame my drop-off on the holiday weekend, which was too beautiful to spend indoors. Even so, I still pumped out an average of more than 1,000...

/ May 31, 2018

Your Personal Den of Robbers

When God enters his holy dwelling place, he brings a lot of change. This is the sanctification of the Christian life—the transformation of mind and heart. Part of that transformation is mopping up the dirty...

/ May 30, 2018

The Abandonment of Muslim Refugees

This year, the United States is on track to welcome the fewest number of refugees since 2002, when 9/11 thwarted resettlement programs in this country. That year, about 22,000 refugees found homes in America. So...

/ May 29, 2018

How to Love the Alien and Fight Bureaucratization: Paternalism over Partnership

Temptation 3: Paternalism over Partnership In my own experience in aid work and in conversation with many veteran colleagues, the heavy sociological question arises: Is aid colonial? The answer: sure, it can be—but it doesn’t...

/ May 28, 2018

The Editor of Our Faith

Ira Glass said something in his commencement speech to the Columbia J-School that I loved. He said editors don’t get the respect they deserve. (I’m certainly not an unbiased observer here.) There are so many...

/ May 25, 2018

Writing Tracker – Week 20 (May 13 – 19)

Writers write. That’s the bottom line. I didn’t hit the same stride as the week prior, but last week was still pretty productive in terms of output. Like the last several weeks, I have really...

/ May 24, 2018

7 Cautions Before Starting an Online Bible Study

When I set my writing goals at the end of last year, I had thought to begin a Bible study blog series, working through the book of Matthew. The idea of a public Bible study...

/ May 23, 2018

How to Love the Alien and Fight Bureaucratization: The Tyranny of Donors

Temptation 2: The Tyranny of Donors Missionaries, artists, and university administrators know this temptation well. We feel the wonderful blessing of receiving aid with which to do good work, but that aid comes with a...

/ May 21, 2018

The Sound of the Spirit

Sunday is Pentecost. I was reading through Acts 2 again, a description of when the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples after Jesus had already ascended into Heaven. And I noticed something. Often when I...

/ May 18, 2018