Apprentice 2 Jesus

Culture

  • The contrast of the culture

    I couldn’t get over the contrast on the page of The New York Times when I went to their page today. The first thing that caught me was the breaking news story of the tornadoes that killed 23 people in Mississippi overnight. We woke up to pouring rain, so I was wondering how much we… Read more

  • We are human… don’t become less

    Some good thoughts in an age where “AI” writes papers, articles, journal articles, tells you the milk is low in the fridge and you’re not moving enough: If, say, you’re a college student preparing for life in an A.I. world, you need to ask yourself: Which classes will give me the skills that machines will… Read more

  • Why still talk about race?

    Why still talk about trauma and justice? As a white man I am not free of trauma, but there are areas of trauma where I have choices. I can remove myself. To choose to remain in the issue is a luxury I have as a white man. Read more

  • Emotion and rage

    “Unmanaged rage is not helpful for anyone and can do more harm than good for the person who harbors it.” — Catherine Meeks, The Night is Long But Light Comes in the Morning Read more

  • Addictions and brokenness

    The numbers are overwhelming as I read them: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unable to track overdose deaths in real-time. Its published data is one year behind, obscuring the picture of what is happening on the ground in 2022. The agency continues to count the death toll for 2021 — in a… Read more

  • Elections

    It’s probably been 20 years or more since I voted in a place where my vote had any significance at all. I’ve lived in very blue areas and very red areas. It doesn’t matter which “side” I might “be one” (which is not even a question in my life any more), I was in a… Read more

  • Wrestling with unhappiness

    We can tend to insulate ourselves against the harshness of what is going on around us. We build thicker walls to keep the noise out. We ignore news because it is “all bad.” We need to keep our eyes and ears open. There is unhappiness around and we need to LISTEN to the why. Read more

  • Idols that need destroying

    “Awakening to love can happen only as we let go of our obsession with power and domination.” — bell hooks You have to knock over a few idols along the way. The gods of this age are controlling. They have a chokehold in all that we do in every institution existing in our culture. When… Read more

  • The famine of our time

    There are physical famines all around us. Drought conditions are crippling regions of the world. Spiritual famine is real. It is very real in places where churches think they are doing well. The Spirit is trying to warn believers of these conditions. The warnings are being ignored . Read more

  • Lost time

    I came down with COVID this week. It was a good run. I made it to this point, so I’m thankful. At some point in my first couple of days of battling some nasty symptoms, I began to lament time I was “losing.” Appointments to be rescheduled. I even thought, “Goodness! I had two weeks… Read more