Unity is a popular word these days — and why wouldn’t it be? In a world dominated by vaccine conspiracies, feuds over masks, political division, racial unrest and economic uncertainty, the call to unity seems refreshing and warranted. In the last few weeks alone, several Christian and non-Christian books on the topic of unity have debuted with much fanfare, many calling for unity as “a way forward” to a more hopeful future of the Church and society. Yet I believe a critical reality to unity is missing: death.   Death Unity requires death. Unity without death is a cheap facade […]

“Get yourself a stack of 3 X 5 cards, and come see me.” Dr. Wright was my favorite college professor, by far. We formed a friendship born in the classroom and developed at the baseball stadium, where I played and he cheered. While he taught and I ran the bases, somehow we became “equals.” So when he asked me to help hone his Spanish speaking skills by conversing with him exclusively in my native language and I gleefully agreed, he sat in motion an event that has molded my life to this day.   The business of cards I sat […]

The first eight years of my life I had the privilege of living in many different places, some of them exotic, some beautiful, some cold, some strange, some familiar. Perhaps you had a similar upbringing. I cherish those experiences. One of the places I lived was a small town in North Carolina, called Montreat. Montreat was a great place to grow up as a child because we were able to explore the streams, mountain paths, forests and allow our imagination to run wild in what could easily be the land that time forgot. One thing unique about this town was […]