Sometimes when I’ve had a rough day at the office I’ll go home and start complaining to my wife about a situation that irritated me, a person who got under my skin or a class that didn’t go well and I’ll tell her what I’m going to do in
Every year in an Old Testament class that I taught, I’d ask my students to think of the wisest person they know. It was almost always a parent, a grandparent or a teacher they’d had. They were typically older, grizzled veterans of a life well lived. When I asked them why
Once when I was in high school my mom walked up to me and asked if I knew a kid named Jeff Detweiler. I knew Jeff and didn’t particularly care for him so I said, “Yes, I know Jeff Detweiler, I think he’s a real Jerk”. At which point
When I was in seminary I served as an intern in a church where one of my responsibilities was to work with the high school youth group. A few months after I began, I was pulled into a conflict between two parents and their daughter. They asked me to
When I was in 8th grade my dad came home one evening, came up to my room, sat on the edge of my bed and told me we were going to move. I was devastated. I cried, bargained and threw out a heavy dose of guilt, all designed to get
I was in a discussion recently with a group of friends. Things got pretty heated between some in the group. I sat quietly, listening, observing, not really wanting to dip my toe into the choppy waters of this conversation given the strong opinions represented. I was content to sit
