The scriptures are full of instances where Jesus clashed publicly with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were an important cohort of the Jewish religio-legal system who emphasized the importance of rules and...

Manufacturing and factory shops have to reject their products that do not meet quality standards. These goods are inspected to identify faults and flaws. Those who are well trained in quality...

We are living in a divided, fragmented, and broken world. The divisions are sometimes between private individuals—siblings, colleagues, family—and sometimes public and corporate groups—communities and nations. The divisions may be personal,...

Many artists collect leftover or discarded materials like glass, cowhide, bones, and scrap metals to make their art. They take materials ordinarily treated as waste to create something new and beautiful....

Many criminal justice systems of the world have been transformed from using punitive prisons to preferring a correctional and rehabilitative approach. Whereas the penal system is retributive in nature, the correctional...

Paul’s call for preachers culminates in the passage from Isaiah, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Feet represented the effort to find new people and spread...

Some storms in life are predictable, but many are not—failing health, global threats, relational discord, and dysfunctional leadership. I broke off an engagement many years ago because I was unwilling to...

I received one of the biggest ministry lessons of my life when my mother died. Arriving at her hospice bedside just a few hours before our final goodbyes, I quickly realized...

For many people, “blood is thicker than water” describes the depth of their family ties, often set within highly hierarchical structures that are expected to be preserved even when they promote...

When I was a seminarian, I was part of a church-planting team in North Philadelphia that understood incarnational ministry as doing life with people on their terms. Before we had the...