Blog

Finally, Succeeding at Advent
I think this might be the first Christmas where I’m truly doing only the things I want to do. That sounds dangerously selfish. But it

Pluribus and the Upside of Sin
Pluribus is the most morally interesting show since Breaking Bad and its sequel Better Call Saul. What these shows have in common is Vince Gilligan,

What We Now Call Joy
We’re more comfortable with metaphor than miracle.

Good Inside
Assume the best in ourselves and in others and get curious. Aim to connect rather than convince!

Feudal and Futile: On Creeds and Confessions II
The Reformed Standards insist on boundaries, divisions, and internal uniformity while we yearn for bridges, unity, and internal diversity.

The Surprise of Light
I crawled under the plastic branches to discover I had rotated the tree so enthusiastically that I’d pulled the light cord taut enough to rip

All is Not Fair in Love and War
I often rode Navy frigates along the Pacific coast of Central America that fell under Coast Guard authority for counter-drug operations.

I wonder what Jesus I need to come right now?
It was around 1980 that Trisha Zinger and I starred in what had to have been the best children’s Christmas program of all time. While

We Are Still Here, Inside the Longest Night
Winter asks us to pause. Grief forces us to.

As if birth were not risky
We tell the story sentimentally. And, sentimentally, we call you Prince of Peace. Sentimentally—even though you were born to a world that crucified you and

Nicholas: Saint for this Season (and all the time)
For seventeen centuries St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, Saint in Bari, has inspired people by his faith and generosity. Nicholas grew up during the late

Telling Lies in Brooklyn
I went inside and told the officer behind the window that I was lost. That was the first lie.