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July 2020

July 30, 2020

When a Child of the Universe Dies

One of the few bright spots during the past months of COVID-19 seclusion and insanity...

June 2020

June 25, 2020

Why Did Jesus Tell Stories? Because All Good Teachers Do

Man is in his actions and practices, as well as in his fictions, essentially a...

June 05, 2020

From Solitude to God

The building looked like the love child of a logic problem and a crossword puzzle....

March 2020

March 22, 2020

“Get Out of My Face”: A tribute to my oldest son on his birthday

Today is my oldest son Caleb’s 41st birthday. He wears it well. When my daughter-in-law...

February 2020

February 18, 2020

When an Important Memory Turns Out to be Wrong

My youngest son, Justin, has a remarkable memory--for, as he puts it, "totally useless facts."...

October 2019

October 17, 2019

How to Tell if You are More Christian Than I Am

If we remembered that water takes its color from the vessel containing it, we would...

September 2019

September 28, 2019

Being Open to the Possibility of God: An excerpt from my new book “Prayer for People Who Don’t Believe in God”

I am pleased to announce that my new book, Prayer for People Who Don't Believe in...

September 17, 2019

Why No One Has the Right to be “Comfortable”

An item popped up on my Facebook news feed a couple of days ago reporting...

August 2019

August 27, 2019

What is the Best Evidence that God is Real?

In her wonderful memoir Take This Bread, Sara Miles tells us of a conversation she had...

August 25, 2019

Remembering One of my Best Friends (and celebrating seven years of blogging)

This week marks seven years since I, with trepidation, misgivings and a certain amount of...

August 20, 2019

Will All Things Be Well?

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall...

August 04, 2019

The National Cathedral Speaks Truth to Donald Trump

“Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented.” “I’m Not That Kind of Christian.” “The Christian Left.” These...

June 2019

June 18, 2019

If Norway Speaks, Donald Trump Will Listen—but probably not to this

Norway is in the news—last week President Trump mentioned Norway as an example of a...

June 11, 2019

Your tree and your dog will get more “likes” than you do, and other things I have learned in seven years of blogging

This August will mark my seventh year of blogging, the last two and a half...

June 06, 2019

The Greatest Task of All is to Live

For the past several years my upper-division (juniors and seniors) classes have included an ongoing...

May 2019

May 02, 2019

Does Everything Happen for a Reason? I don’t think so

During the last seminar of the semester in one of my classes this week, my...

March 2019

March 27, 2019

What Goes Down . . . Must Come Back Up

Today's Psalm invited us to go to the mountain of the Lord–which reminded me of...

March 17, 2019

Why I Am Done Trying to Prove the Existence of God

If you think you understand it, it is not God. Soren Kierkegaard In Marilynne Robinson’s...

January 2019

January 30, 2019

Sacred Spaces and Dunkin Donuts

I currently am working my way slowly through Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography of Leonardo da...

November 2018

November 27, 2018

This is Why I am Not an Atheist

Despite my consistent self-description as a “person of faith,” I have been accused occasionally over...

November 15, 2018

Mary, Martha, and Time Management

The stereotype of the Type A personality has become an entrenched part of cultural lore....

August 2018

August 21, 2018

Hail Frieda, Full of Grace

Six years ago today, after a great deal of resistance, I finally followed the advice...

July 2018

July 01, 2018

Prayer for People Who Don’t Believe in God

Last week I contracted with a publisher to write a book on prayer--the working title...

February 2018

February 25, 2018

Sharing My Faith

I grew up in the world of evangelical Christianity, and have spent much of my...

January 2018

January 21, 2018

Dunkin’ Donuts and Sacred Spaces

I currently am working my way slowly through Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography of Leonardo da...

August 2017

August 27, 2017

Ten Years On

Ten years ago this summer, I attended a writers conference for the first time in...

July 2017

July 19, 2017

A Sower Went Forth To Sow . . .

Every writer knows that writing is an inefficient and non-economical process. One never knows when...

August 2016

August 05, 2016

What is a Podcast?

I remember clearly the morning several years ago when a colleague from the English department,...

April 2016

April 07, 2016

Adepto Ex Meus Visio

Jeanne and I are headed to Florida this evening to spend a week with family...

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