November 2010

posted on November 19, 2010

I don’t even remember the issue we were talking about—it had something to do with Christianity—but I do remember my friend’s response. “Gosh, I'm not really sure," he said. And I thought it a humble and gracious posture to take.

Only, it's been five years now. And he's still saying, "I'm not really sure." He has landed in that place. Now I see what happened. He has chosen doubt—a posture very attractive and honored in our day.

Doubt is “in.”

Listen to how people (especially young adults) talk. “I don’t really know…I’m just sort of wrestling with things right now…you know, I’m not really sure….” And if, in the rare case, someone actually says what they believe...

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Of Course

posted on November 10, 2010

My son told me recently that at his Christian college a student has chosen to fly Buddhist prayer flags off the dorm balcony.

Perfect. Of course they did. It is a classic picture of the culture at this moment. A self-revealing snapshot.

Too many years ago to count, Alan Bloom came out with a celebrated (and prophetic) book called The Closing of the American Mind. In it, Bloom - a university professor - observed that the last value held by college students in this post modern world is tolerance. A value held passionately. Almost religiously.

Those college students grew up, had children of their own, and shaped the culture we have at present. We are so steeped in the...

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Healing the Past

posted on November 01, 2010

I had a remarkable and unexpected opportunity this last weekend.

I'd gone back to southern California to visit my aging parents. My dad is in a nursing home know and it was good to see him. My mom needed some help around their old house as well, and I was glad to be able to fix some things for her. But the unexpected gift came as I drove around the neighborhoods in which I grew up.

I found myself praying through my past. The loneliness of my junior high years. The rebellion of my high school days. As I drove around I would remember a person or an event, and simply invite Jesus into it. It was extraordinarily redemptive. It felt like Jesus and I were walking back through all...

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