More than once in this blog I have written about the differences between the theological roots of older and younger evangelicals. The older have been the inheritors of the belief that our primary task is taking the Gospel to the whole world through evangelism. Once the Gospel had been heard by every nation and every tongue, the Great Commission would be complete and Christ’s return would follow. In the last few decades the holistic message of the Gospel has been given more emphasis, opening up broader opportunities for medical missions, education, poverty relief, microfinance, business development and social justice. But, most of this work has been in areas outside the…

“In Port William only strangers and preachers and traveling salesmen ever went to anybody’s front door.” That line from Wendell Berry’s “Jayber Crow” fairly describes my own neighborhood where I grew up. It was the side door leading into the kitchen – the heart of the house – that was the place we went in and came out. People coming to the front door were those we did not know, but people coming to the side were friends, neighbors and family. The side door was for people we trusted. I’ve been turning that over in my mind this week while studying the power of stories. They come through the side…

For five years I was a teacher and principal in a small school in North Carolina. One of the traditions of each senior class was to take a trip and, of course, it was ideal if it was a cruise in the Caribbean. It was also a tradition that the senior class spent their final year raising the money for the trip. Parents could not pick up the expense so there were endless rounds of car washes and cookie sales every year. Students love cruises. One year, the seniors kept putting off their fundraising in spite of all our reminders and warnings that there would only be a trip if…

Everyone likes a mystery, especially those about the rich. My interest was piqued while reading “A Big Bet for Change in America’s Heartland,” an article by Drew Lindsay in the “Chronicle of Philanthropy.” The article’s subject is David Gundlach, the enigmatic donor who left close to $150 million to his hometown’s community foundation in Elkhart, Indiana. I began to read articles about his life – what little that was known about it. In fact, it is less of a true mystery than it is a story of an unfinished quest in the life of a boy from a small town becoming rich after the sale of his company. This line…

Sometimes a random link on the internet takes you places you never would have discovered on your own. That’s what happened when I was reading an article by Courtney Martin, the author of “Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists.” Courtney was writing about the young people who are attracted to complex problems and social change in other countries but fall into the trap of what she calls the “reductive seduction” of being drawn to problems that are urgent, highly visible and seem readily solvable to our best and brightest. In the middle of the article she linked to an essay by C.Z. Nnaemeka, “The Unexotic Underclass.” The essay…

We came to our community over 30 years ago. Not long after we arrived, I had the privilege to meet and get to know men and women who had carried public and charitable responsibility in this community for generations – and did so until they died. Sometimes their children took their place and sometimes not. I don’t know if all of these men and women would have described it this way, but to me there was a clear sense of having a call to this place. They were not simply living here but had made a life here. They had wealth and an ingrained sense of caring for others. In…

Peace is good. War is bad. Right?  Not always. In fact, there are times even now when making peace is simply accommodation and the avoidance of a necessary war. “So then, the Lord left some nations in the land to test the Israelites who had not been through the wars in Canaan. He did this only in order to teach each generation of Israelites about war, especially those who had never been in battle before…They were to be a test for Israel, to find out whether or not the Israelites would obey the commands that the Lord had given their ancestors through Moses…And so the people of Israel settled down…intermarried…

Earlier this week I was with Peter Greer of Hope International. He was in town to speak to the faculty and board of East Texas Baptist University about the importance of the board’s continuous focus on the mission of the school and the dangers of drifting. But he also talked with them about the role of periodic self-reflection on the part of the board members individually to make sure they were building not only the school but their own inner commitment to the deeper purpose of the school. Peter’s approach was neither preachy or pointed. It was an invitation to stay true both personally and corporately. I had the same…

A few years ago a friend and his wife lost their son to suicide. I attended the service and then wrote a blog that expressed how I felt about their tragedy. Shortly afterwards, my friend asked me to work with him putting together a small conference to help families who have experienced the pain of mental illness. I thought about it for a few days before telling him that this issue was not my “sweet spot,” and it would work best if he found someone for whom it was a passion. We saw each other periodically over the next two years. He repeated his request each time, and I always responded with the same answer. It was just not for me. One night as I was getting into bed, I was startled to hear a voice in my…

The church service before I taught Sunday School this week was not to my taste. It’s hard for me to believe God finds this edifying. The music was too loud and hands were raised throughout the worship center, perhaps tentatively at first but then accompanied by a little swaying and pointing toward the ceiling. People started to move their lips. I have thought about recommending we have a special section at the back for people so inclined. Furthermore, we’ve switched from offering plates to those velvet bags to keep you from seeing what other people are putting in. And the large screens make the service feel more like Cinemark than…