The Imitation Game is a new movie that tells the story of Alan Turing and his near miraculous breaking of the Nazi “Enigma” code during World War II. Historians believed that by cracking that code, Turing may have shaved two years off of the war. The movie’s title comes from the “Turing Test,” another one of the mathematician’s genius achievements. To put it simply, the Turing Test is a test of a computer’s ability to imitate intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Is it possible to develop an artificial intelligence that can not only imitate but replace human intelligence? Don’t be too quick to say…

What happens to a dream deferred? Caleb didn’t forget his dream or give it up. He lived a true life.

Last week I attended the annual meeting of the Wedgwood Circle. Wedgwood seeks out and convenes people who are committed to creating and supporting art and entertainment that is “good, true and beautiful.” It’s hard work being an artist. Jack Kerouac said, “Genius gives birth, talent delivers.” It’s oftentimes discouraging and unrewarding work spending years turning inspiration and imagination into something tangible for others to appreciate or value. However, it is even harder if your desire is to create something not just commercially viable but also “good, true and beautiful for the common good.” Consider the odds just in getting your film into the Sundance Film Festival. Over 12,000 independent…

Our culture tends to use covetousness, envy and greed interchangeably – but they are very different.

Growing up Southern Baptist I have indelible memories of the Sunday School offering envelope used by the church. It was more than a tracking device for offerings. We were also graded by our teacher on bringing our Bible, preparing for the lesson, and attending church to hear the preaching afterwards. However, I don’t have any recollections of our asking the church about its own performance during the week. I remember hearing occasionally about attendance, baptisms and money – and that was pretty much the whole list. We gave our offering because we were supposed to give and had been taught to do so out of obedience, not unlike the Old…

  If David Brooks and Frederick Buechner do not know each other, I wish they did because they have at least a couple of things in common. Buechner once told an interviewer that he is “too religious for secular readers and too secular for religious ones.” Both Brooks and Buechner share an abiding interest in the world around them. David describes it as “paying attention” as he walks around New York, travels and teaches at Yale. His ability to find both the obscure and the familiar and hold them up in fresh ways is what keeps people coming back to his columns and books. Frederick Buechner writes about “listening to…

  I have had the privilege of learning from many wise older men throughout my life, one of them being Peter Drucker. Peter and I worked together through my role with Bob Buford and Leadership Network. For the first 12 years I was around Peter, I spoke only when he asked a question. Otherwise, I listened and took notes. In 1996, Peter and I spent a day together talking about the future of The Gathering. He was especially interested in our focus and what we hoped to accomplish. And if you know anything about Peter, you know that all discussions lead back to results. Peter and I met again to…

As the Lutheran scholar Martin Marty once observed, people these days who are civil often lack strong convictions, and people with strong religious convictions often are not very civil.

  Most of us are first made to read Shakespeare before we have enough life experience to even partially understand it. It wasn’t until I was teaching King Lear in senior English at Stony Brook – and had a daughter of my own – before I realized that King Lear was so much about his relationship with his daughters and his desperate attempt to pass off responsibility without giving up privilege. It was the tragic tale of a father demanding love and honor – things that could only be earned. Years went by and I didn’t reread King Lear until much later when I was co-teaching “The Wise Art of…

Dr. John Stott’s last bit of advice to his assistant before he died was simply this, “Do the hard thing.” “Uncle John” believed that choosing the easy trail, the road most taken, and the path of least resistance can only end in mediocrity – even if it comes with praise. I experienced firsthand John Stott doing the hard thing. He arrived late at night from London to talk with a group of pastors the next day. I met with John to let him know we designed the meeting to allow him the freedom of no preparation; he had only to reflect on what he had already written. When I told…