When I first heard that Tangled Ashes was a finalist for the Christy Awards, I thought, “Oh, that’s fun,” and accepted Tyndale’s invitation to attend the event in St Louis last weekend. The first clue that I’d vastly underestimated the importance of the Christies came when a fellow nominee asked, as we were walking across […]
Transitioning well. It’s possibly the topic requested most often at the seminars I lead, in part because so much transition happens in the course of ministry and in part because most of us realize we haven’t always done it well. Though this article is written with missionaries in mind, it is applicable to anyone who […]
It was April 11, 2010. I wasn’t prepared for the sea of white crosses that spread across the horizon when I turned away from the desolate beauty of Normandy’s Omaha Beach and faced the American Cemetery where 9,387 white crosses and stars of David marked the graves of soldiers who fell during the D-Day landings […]
I’ve started this post five times, trying to be tactful and not ruffle any feathers. But I’m finding delicate words insufficient and weak, when what I really want to say is “Missionary parents, stop doing God’s work if you can’t put your children first.” Actually, the same goes for any parents who profess to […]
As much as I love words, I know pictures and sound can often convey what is otherwise inexpressible. Consider this short video a compilation of “inexpressibles”! Nepal, England, Germany and France: it was the ministry trip of a lifetime. If you’re on my mailing list, you’ll shortly be receiving a letter that describes the way […]
Easter 2012. I got up early to go to College Church. I don’t regularly attend there, but its choir sings the Hallelujah Chorus on Resurrection Sunday every year, and the song takes on new significance in the context of Jesus’ victory over death. I bawled through it, as I usually do. The grandeur and sheer […]
[WARNING: Sexual content below.] Shameful admission: in the year 2008, when I was waging a twofold battle against cancer, I began to watch a show called The Bachelor. Or maybe it was The Bachelorette, that season. Whatever the gender of the mate-seeking protagonist, it afforded me a bit of an escape from my torturous reality, […]
There’s a French expression that doesn’t quite translate into English: “like a hair on soup.” You’re having coffee in Starbucks and enjoying the alone-time when someone you vaguely know intrudes on your peace and quiet…like a hair on soup. That’s the gist of it. One week ago, I stood in a wedding reception feeling very […]
My most vivid memory of bullying dates back to elementary school. There were two boys on bicycles who would lay in wait for me at the end of the day. I’d pass through the wire gate that led from the ugly blue-gray buildings into the street. And there they were. A little older than me. […]
Ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder? It sneaks in during the winter months and afflicts 5% to 20% of Americans, with varying degrees of intensity. MKs are not impervious to the darkening, and I believe their cross-cultural uniqueness might make them more prone to it. I’ve seen so many of them hit the proverbial wall […]