Angelina Jolie and Ownership of the Body

Angelina Jolie and Ownership of the Body

  As a man, I am with this post venturing way out of my area of either expertise or existential knowledge. But bear with me and I’ll try to explain my compulsion to do so in spite of my non-qualifications! I don’t track celebrities much. But Angelina Jolie’s decision to [...]

Hating Hillary (or) Is There No Such Thing as Hate Speech Anymore?

Hating Hillary (or) Is There No Such Thing as Hate Speech Anymore?

Is there any word or sentiment which is off limits these days? Last week, talk radio shrieker Pete Santilli accused Hillary Clinton of being involved with the killing of American troops in Benghazi, Libya. And then he offered this: “I want to shoot her right in the vagina and I [...]

Oklahoma Tornado Response: “We will back up those prayers with deeds”

Oklahoma Tornado Response: “We will back up those prayers with deeds”

We join with Christians worldwide remembering the town of Moore Oklahoma, and would ask those reading these words to pray for them. As President Obama said, “Our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today. And we will back up those prayers with deeds for as long as it takes.” [...]

Poetry: Wendell Berry

Poetry: Wendell Berry

  Wendell Berry Oh how my whole being loves your Sabbath, Wendell An act of worship to walk those forest trails How close you seem to the God of creation Immersed in what He made But I have a question: Does God require the absence of humanity Before He will [...]

Mother and Daughters

Confronting the Fundamentalist Within

[Here's an oldie-goldie from my still-extant but no longer updated blog exploring Christian feminism, "Are Men Really Human?"] Today, a dear friend unintentionally brought me face to face with my own anger. I had sent her links to an article blasting her ministry as unbiblical and “liberal.” Indignant, I was [...]

Other News

by / on May 7, 2013 at 3:18 pm / in Uncategorized

So What is a “Macedonian Call”… and Do I Have One?

5/6/2013 Do We Have a ‘Macedonian Call’? Christians vary in their understanding of just what “God’s Call” consists of. Curt Mortimer offers a whole lot of common ground for all of us to walk out in this encouraging, challenging message. (Click arrow at left of sermon link to play and/or [...]

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by / on April 25, 2013 at 11:34 am / in Cornerstone Magazine, Faith Works, Jon Trott

Boston and The Most Dangerous Story

When I heard about the Boston marathon bombings — it happened via TV in a North Dakota seniors’ residence my wife’s parents live in — tears lept to my eyes and that terrible, familiar taste of 9/11 rage rose up inside. This time there was no creepy Osama bin Laden [...]

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by / on April 25, 2013 at 10:31 am / in Faith Works, Uncategorized

An American Muslim’s Voice: Interview with Bostonian Hoda Elsharkawi

I have known Hoda Elsharkawi for some time, introduced to her via my cousin Karen who herself converted to Islam just 3 months before the horrors of 9/11/01. Hoda, her husband, and their children live near Boston. As someone who is Muslim, American, and a Bostonian, I believe Hoda offers [...]

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by / on April 18, 2013 at 7:08 pm / in Creative Spark, Poetry

Happy National Poetry Month!!

I am part of an online writers group, and to honor National Poetry Month we challenged our members to take a risk, do something new, and try to pen some poetry.  As an added incentive we proposed to compile the collection into an eBook. It was an honor and a [...]

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by / on April 17, 2013 at 4:20 pm / in CCO Stories, Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO)

The God of the Poor

I’m no stranger to poverty, having spent the first five years of my life in shady Philadelphia neighborhoods with an alcoholic mother who was nearly destitute. My older brothers did what they had to do, watching me, making sure I was dressed, and feeding me ketchup sandwiches because sometimes that’s [...]

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by / on March 29, 2013 at 2:52 pm / in JPUSA Sermons

JPUSA Voices on The Stations of the Cross (audio)

Our JPUSA Messages page now includes the ongoing Stations of the Cross series, presented by various members of the Jesus People USA community at church services over the past month and a half. We pray this Easter season will be one of deep thought and Holy Encounter with Christ and [...]

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by / on March 21, 2013 at 3:41 pm / in Creative Spark, Poetry

Create A Tumult in Our Hearts

Years ago I was on an email list for the Bruderhof community. It was mostly a daily devotional from writers like Johann Christoph Arnold. One day there was a poem. But it wasn’t just a poem.  It was a prayer. It has become my yearly spring wake-up call. The words [...]

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by / on March 19, 2013 at 1:53 pm / in Community Life, JPUSA, JPUSA Stories, Rebecca Hill, Regular People, Relationships, Uncategorized

Float (Rebecca Hill)

Eden and I are doing homework. He does a lot of it out loud because he has the family trait that he is brilliant verbally but writing things down is almost impossible. Sage has the same thing. I think I did, too. We are highly verbal, abstract, creative and terribly [...]

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by / on March 17, 2013 at 7:55 pm / in Regular People, Uncategorized

Choosing Green Pastures

  I’m not a restful person. In fact, I’m the opposite. I’m restless. I fidget. I zone out. I am easily bored. I like to have plans and projects and possibilities.   Even, especially, at night, I can’t stop. My brain doesn’t shut off. EVER. It’s like a machine in [...]

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by / on March 10, 2013 at 1:08 pm / in Uncategorized

Uptown Salvation Army Letter Thanking Uptown Supporters in Alderman Controversy

Salvation Army Captain Nancy Powers released the following open letter to those supporting the SA’s Uptown Truck Feeding Program. (For more information about that controversy, fueled when Uptown’s Alderman attempted to shut down that SA outreach to street homeless here, see “Of Pigeons and Homeless in Uptown.”)

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