Word&Way Voices

Words like privilege, entitlement and equal access have suddenly taken on enormous significance in our culture. Until recently, I viewed myself as very egalitarian. But on board a recent commercial flight, I learned something disturbing about myself: Maybe I’m not as committed to equality as I thought I was.

I don’t know what you were doing the week of Aug. 15, but I had a ringside seat, watching a bit of local history right before my eyes. The Medicaid 23 trial took place just a block from my church office, at the courthouse in downtown Jefferson City, Mo.

Reflecting on the recent annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance in Vancouver, British Columbia, I was struck by two things: The deep hunger in my own life for corporate worship and the centrality of worship in our common life.

Our church’s recent quarterly business meeting seemed routine enough (if there is such a thing as a routine business meeting). But very quietly, something historic occurred that evening.

The wall in my home office is covered with pictures.

Some of the pictures predate me, like the one of my wife’s grandfather’s family and the picture of my maternal grandmother. Then there are graduation pictures of my wife and me. There are pictures of our children when they were younger and recent pictures of our grandchildren.

Every picture has a story.

Every day, I walk a fine line between servant leadership and people pleasing. Some days, I get it right. Other days, I can’t even see the line.

Our culture seems to have shelved “and” in favor of “or.”

Liberal or conservative. Prolife or pro-choice. Gun rights or gun control. Let’s be honest: Polarization sells more news (and more politics) than consensus.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service. This makes 2016 its 100th birthday.

During this past Lenten season, our congregation journeyed together around the theme of forgiveness — God’s forgiveness of us as well as our forgiveness of ourselves and others. Here are some takeaways.

In nearly every other area of our lives, curiosity is highly valued. Where would the world of information technology be without curious college dropouts working in their garages? Savvy entrepreneurs succeed because they invest in “what if?” So instead of shunning all this ambiguity and confusion, perhaps churches should embrace it.