Category Archives: Blog

A truly original character died this week.  I first got to know Will Campbell through his splendid book Brother to a Dragonfly.  Typical of Will, he shone the spotlight not on his own story but rather on that of his … Continue reading →

Last week I saw the movie 42, the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player.   Critics have found fault with 42 for being predictable and simplistic, but for long stretches while watching I had a lump … Continue reading →

I’ll let you in on a dirty little secret.  A facility with words may make writers sound confident and wise but most often we write about what we long for.  Thus books on marriage often emerge from difficult marriages and … Continue reading →

Like the rest of the country, I’m reeling from news of the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon and the follow-up spree of violence and subsequent manhunt.  I keep flashing back to September 11, 2001, when I like most Americans … Continue reading →

Someone sent me this delightful video just as I was reading a book that explores the word redeem.  Slum children creating music out of garbage stands as a perfect metaphor for a word usually encountered in theology texts. Some twenty … Continue reading →

Those of us who live in snow lands love to complain about the weather. We tell stories about spending the night in a church basement when the highway shut down, and the time it got so cold that spit froze … Continue reading →

Some of you have written to ask about my visit to Newtown. Well, if you have the patience to sit still and watch a talk on your computer screen (I don’t!), here’s a link to a video of what I … Continue reading →

In January I went to Kazakhstan.  It’s a big country–ninth largest in the world and five times the size of Texas–yet virtually unknown until the 2006 spoof film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan … Continue reading →

In recent years audiences worldwide have watched a drama of forgiveness played out onstage in the musical version of Les Misérables.  Now a major motion picture makes the story available to all.  I used the plot as an illustration in … Continue reading →

Janet and I returned from Newtown, CT, Sunday night after a weekend that was at once poignant, meaningful, and very full. I hope to post a full report after I’ve had time to process all that happened. Let me simply … Continue reading →