Riley and I spent a few days earlier this week in Austin, Texas, visiting my 99-year-old mother as well as an assortment of siblings, nieces, and nephews. I wanted my mom to see Riley in the aftermath of his graduation from UNC-Chapel Hill AND I wanted to see her at...
I had a conversation not long ago with someone about what makes a song "Christian" . . . or not. You know how I have concluded many people answer that question, consciously or not? If it is released by a Christian music label and gets played on Christian music...
It's not the top five Steve Winwood songs. It's the top five songs in which he sings. Because whether it was the front man (boy, really) for The Spencer Davis Band, the lead singer for Traffic, or his solo career, Steve Winwood's voice could carry a song. Let me...
My only regret with BrainWashing is that I didn't do it about five years ago. But one day last year I had a brief Facebook post on something along the lines of the sermon below and Chris Macedo told me, "We really need you to tell us stuff like that." So I did. So I...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cxok-EDlKc&feature=youtu.be You wash your hands. You wash your hair. You wash your skin. But what if all that was secondary in importance to washing your brain? What if the residue that has built up inside our heads after...
There are many times in which I don't know how in the world I could possibly preach if I hadn't majored in English in college. That's where and how I learned to read closely and write consistently, two skills that I have found more important than any others when it...
Here I am holding one of the many copies of Head Scratchers that arrived at the office this week. As you might imagine, it's a bit of a surreal experience . . . one that will repeat in September when Abingdon Press releases both The Storm Before The Calm and The...
With basketball dominating the sports landscape these days, I've been thinking about the role of the jump shot. That perfect combination of size and strength, agility and fluidity, guile and accuracy. And sometimes -- as with Derek Rose's improbable buzzer beating...
Instead of preaching at Good Shepherd on Sunday, I was at my son Riley's graduation from UNC- Chapel Hill. From left, we are Julie, Taylor (Vanderbilt '11), Riley, and me. Chapel Hill has a Mother's Day Morning Graduation Tradition (evidently established with...
How would we summarize our journey with Solutionists? Since the bible is a library, Nehemiah is a memoir. Nehemiah the man doesn't point out problems; he pinpoints solutions. When you admit that the solution is the problem, God surrounds you with his promises. Week 2:...