Keeping The Faith

In the previous generation there were at least three great Southern-born prophets: Martin Luther King, Jr., Clarence Jordan, and Will Campbell. Campbell is the only one still living. He is nearing his 90th year, and is a self-proclaimed prickly, “bootleg preacher” from Mississippi with a Baptist ordination, a foul four-letter-word dropping mouth, and a love…

Tony Campolo retells an incident involving William Sloane Coffin following the death of his son, Alexander. Alex, as he was called, was killed in a car accident in 1983 when he was only twenty-four years old. His father, William, who was a pastor, theologian, and chaplain at Yale University, was forced into coping with the…

When my friend Scott was young, he began to experience a stirring deep in his heart that some Christians refer to as “a divine calling.” How could Scott ignore such a thing, conditioned as he had been to hear God’s quiet voice? Scott, in the words of Feroll Sams, had been “Raised Right” in the…

A farmer hired a man to work for him. He told him his first task would be to paint the barn and said it should take him about three days to finish. But the hired man worked very fast, and was finished in just one day. The farmer then instructed his hired hand to cut…

In these days when it seems everything has become angry polarization, it’s not uncommon to hear someone in the heat of an argument invoke the familiar words of Jesus: “Judge not, so that you are not judged.” These words are probably misapplied as much as anything Jesus ever said. Jesus’ prohibition against judging has less…

Gary Hamel tells about a science experiment involving four monkeys in a room. In the center of the room, researchers had placed a tall pole with a bunch of bananas suspended at the top. One particularly hungry monkey eagerly scampered up the pole intent on retrieving a banana. Just as he reached out to take…

Do you know the three most frightening words in the English language? “Some assembly required.” You order something online; a toy or a bicycle for your children. Or you go to a big box store to get a grill or piece of patio furniture. When UPS brings it to your door or you find the…

Leo Tolstoy once compared religious rules to the light given off by a lamp post. It is a bright light. It dispels the darkness. As long as man or woman stood in that light, he or she could see. But the lamp post had limitations, Tolstoy said. To remain in the light meant going no…

Imagine that tomorrow morning I deposit into your bank account $86,400. This money is all yours to do with as you please, no strings attached. Now, not only am I going to deposit this amount into your account tomorrow, I’m going to do the same thing every day next week. That is a combined $604,800…

A few years ago I traveled to Virginia to visit friends and see a few sites. On one of our road trips I made the drive from historic Williamsburg, Virginia to Charlottesville.  It is only a couple of hours drive between the two towns across Interstate 64. But on this trip it was late at…

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