For Christmas, our kids gave us tickets to a Sting concert in Dallas. They know how much I like his music and how unlikely I am to spend the money to see him perform live. The whole experience was priceless, and Sting was in top form. He ended the evening by singing “Fragile,” which has become something of an anthem in times of sudden outbreaks of extraordinary violence. On the evening of September 11, 2001, Sting was scheduled to perform in Tuscany, Italy, and record his first live album in 15 years. We all remember what happened earlier in the day, which left the band wrestling with whether or not to go…

As much as anything Dad relished making and fixing things. What he really loved were the tools. He collected them partly because he needed the right tools to do the work essentially with one hand and partly because he loved working with them. He found delight in patiently figuring out the essence of a problem and then coming up with a solution that was brilliant - and incredibly ugly.

[vc_row fullwidth=”false” attached=”false” padding=”0″ visibility=”” animation=””][vc_column border_color=”” visibility=”” width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″] Happy New Year. Some of you know I enjoy taking pictures – and then finding something to say. Here are twelve from the year that I hope will provoke some thoughts. [/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid style=”all” items_per_page=”10″ element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ button_style=”rounded” button_color=”blue” button_size=”md” arrows_design=”none” arrows_position=”inside” arrows_color=”blue” paging_design=”radio_dots” paging_color=”grey” loop=”” autoplay=”-1″ item=”mediaGrid_BlurWithContentBlock” grid_id=”vc_gid:1452141965798-1fa904cf-b3a8-1″ include=”13215,13219,13214,13216,13218,13217,13220,13223,13221,13222,13224,13225″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

It has become a tradition for us to publish a poem for the Christmas blog. So much Christmas poetry has either romanticized the day or, especially in modern poetry, found despair and resignation. What I like about this poem of Wendell Berry’s is his expectancy in the ordinary. It’s unfortunate that the word “mundane” has come to mean dull and lacking interest or describing something unremarkable because so much of Wendell Berry’s writing is about the mundane. It is about this world. The daily rounds of chores and long relationships. The routines and tasks that are uneventful – at least on the surface.  But that is both the setting of this poem…

This week we heard the news that Invisible Children is shutting down, which brought back memories of founder Jason Russell’s time with us at The Gathering in 2005 – just one year after he and two friends had completed the original film. Everyone in the room at The Gathering that year was in disbelief at what these young people had done in making a documentary in a war zone in Uganda. It began as an idea to actually film the war in Darfur. The friends bought a used camera on eBay and headed to Darfur but were threatened by the Lord’s Resistance Army and were detoured to Uganda where they ended…

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…