It is very unusual for a church leader to encourage followers to shake things up within the church, but these were the marching orders Pope Francis I gave to three million young people last week in Buenos Aires: I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism,…

Little kids, little problems…big kids, big problems? When I was a young parent of three kids born in the span of 36 months, a few people passed this bit of homespun wisdom on to me. I suppose they were trying to give me a heads’ up that toilet training and chicken pox and tantrums (theirs,…

A recent Christianity Today cover story profiling the perpetual adolescence of American Christianity asked “When Are We Going To Grow Up?” For those of us over 40, it’s now or never. Those of us in this age group may have grown up hearing that we weren’t supposed to trust anyone over 30, but most of us…

My dad died on his 64th birthday, 16 years ago. On July 19th, 1983, the date of my dad’s 50th birthday, I was at Evanston Hospital, laboring oh-so-slowly on the long march toward  the birth of my first child. That little girl did not make her appearance until lunchtime of the following day, July 20th,…

Every night before dinner, my husband and I stand in the doorway of our small kitchen, join hands and pray. We bless God for his provision, and we pray for each member of our family by name. Each day, there is something new for which to pray on their behalf. We can’t help but pray,…

We live as exiles. We’re called to be pilgrims. I am journeying through Scripture, stopping at a few oases along the way, in order to contemplate our exile experience. I’ll also offer some helpful thoughts about how Christ can reshape that identity and reorient our journey so we live as pilgrims. To read earlier posts…