The Price of Dissent – You may be called to pay it

We have the unhappy privilege of living in deeply divided times. Where neighbors used to disagree about sports, politics, and even religion, they maintained friendships and remained neighborly. Now thanks to the accelerant known as the internet, and its igniter, Social Media, differences become grounds for lifetime bans — and worse — for holding an […]

Our Chaos is Why Christmas Exists – Revisited

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – […]

Re-post: In Memory of Carolyn S. Lakes (1932 – 2017)

“The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” – Proverbs 10:7 (ESV) “It shouldn’t have happened.” Those were my wife’s words on Sunday, October 8 — the day she and her siblings, our nephew, and I said goodbye to their mother, his grandmother, my mother-in-law. “It shouldn’t […]

Re-post: The Pendulum Predicts a Bumpy Ride – Part III

How should we live in difficult times?

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own […]

Re-post: The Pendulum Predicts a Bumpy Ride – Part II

Considering how it might play out

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own […]

Re-post: The Pendulum Predicts a Bumpy Ride – Part I

Comparing the authors' predictions in light of current conditions

 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” – Romans 12:18 (NIV) In a recent post, I summarized the message of Roy H. Williams and Michael Drew’s book Pendulum: How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future. You really should read the post and get […]

Re-post: Why the Next Six Years Could Be Sporty

Whether you call it the Pendulum or The Fourth Turning, it looks like rough sledding

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst   Are full of passionate intensity.”  – W. B. Yeats from The Second Coming I recently read and re-read Roy H. […]

Re-post: Defeating the False Self – a First-Person Account

He's not all bad...

“There is a me you would not recognize…” – Over the Rhine from Latter Days In my previous post on identity, I warned against the rise of the impostor, also known as the false self. If you’re like me and most of the men I’ve met, you have either overcome the false self, or you […]

The Blessings of Adversity

The struggle is real -- and necessary

When it’s too tough for everybody else, it’s just right for me. – Anonymous In an earlier post, I argued that hardship shapes character. This time, I want to develop that idea further. Would you believe me if I said you need a battle to fight? An adversary? A foil? Think about it: every great […]

Re-post: The Role of Hardship in Shaping Character

You gotta go through it to get it, get it?

“Endure hardship as discipline…”   – Hebrews 12:7 I never liked the word discipline. It always made me think of punishment — and I didn’t care for punishment.  Losing privileges, being sent to my room, having my allowance docked — I never liked any of it.  The worst, however, was corporal punishment — the dreaded […]