In 1933 Hitler took effective control of the German government and immediately moved to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi Protestant Reich Church. A group of pastors protested and formed the Confessing Church in opposition to some of the Nazi ideals, including antisemitism. Most of those pastors ended up in concentration camps or […]
President Donald Trump pronounced churches and other houses of worship as “essential” and called on state governors nationwide to let them reopen. Many Christians hailed his announcement as heroic, while others called it irresponsible. I have no desire to enter the political fray. However, this has raised an important theological question that is worthy of […]
It gets more difficult to cope with each passing day of “shelter-in-place.” The challenges of loss of income, the painful inaccessibility to mental health professionals, the strain of a difficult marriage, the exacerbation of online public education — all these and so much more are creating a seething caldron of anxiety and desperation. Most are […]
I never thought masks would be controversial. Welcome to 2020, where the complexities of a global pandemic have us debating the finer points of mask-wearing. One Ohio State Representative is refusing to wear a mask (he used Scripture to justify his refusal). US officials including Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Vice President Mike Pence have […]
A lot of people are fearful right now. Covid-19 is spreading. Nerves are on high alert. Fear is an essential part of the survival instinct. Truth be told — fear and anxiety are a part of the human experience. If someone tells you that they are never anxious or afraid, then they are either lying, […]
The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May when people are asked: “to turn to God in prayer and meditation”. The president is required by law to sign a proclamation each year, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Nothing can stop a praying […]
Paul warned us that our true enemy is not physical or material, but spiritual. If we hope to move beyond a superficial faith we must be willing to go down into the inner world of prayer and meditation. I want to challenge you to join my 60-Day Quiet Time Challenge (starting on May 4th) and […]
I allow myself an hour of News Channel surfing every night. I get a small dosage of everything, although some are more difficult to stomach than others. It seems we are starting to get a sprinkling of good news mixed with the bad. Curves are beginning to flatten. Hospitals are beleaguered, but keeping up with […]
Life can be a bit of a roller coaster at times. There may be seasons of stability – times when everything seems to be running smoothly – but, those seasons are always interrupted by the natural bend of life toward chaos and disruption. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to teach us the value of […]
No one has a crystal ball on the pandemic we are experiencing. Opinions and predictions abound. Business leaders want to get back to work, while normally mild-mannered medical scientists are screaming extreme caution. Politicians are stuck somewhere between those two voices. The rest of us are left scratching our heads and shrugging our shoulders, unsure […]
