Notes From the Forgotten Borough
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The Rollercoaster of Faith
In Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a civilization builds a supercomputer to answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. After thinking for 7.5 million years, the computer finally delivers its answer: 42. Apparently, even a supercomputer needs a better prompt. The problem, it explains, is that they never really…
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Fire and Rain
Sometimes we get to see God respond immediately to earnest prayer. On April 3, 1974, a devastating tornado tore through Xenia, Ohio. That F5 storm is considered one of the worst tornadoes in American history, killing 32 people with winds exceeding 300 miles per hour. In today’s dollars, the tornado created $1.63 billion in damage.…
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Divided Loyalties
My youngest brother is a big Ohio State Buckeyes fan. He has great taste in sports. He also married a wonderful woman whom we may like even more than him. There is just one problem: she comes from a family of Michigan fans. In our house growing up, we took that rivalry seriously enough that…
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Faithful in Unfaithful Places
I think Joseph of Arimathea is a fascinating character. He was a respected member of the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin—the governing body that exercised significant religious and civil authority in Jerusalem during the days of Jesus. It included men from very different groups and perspectives, including Pharisees and Sadducees. We’re not told exactly where Joseph…
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When Life Stops Making Sense
Twenty-five years ago, I sat in a classroom in New Jersey. The morning was crisp, blue, and beautiful. We were just getting started with a new school year. Early in the day, news started rushing through the halls about an airplane that had just hit a building in the city. A few months earlier, I…
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From Provision to Purpose
Early in my ministry, I worked with a pastor who had been a successful engineer in his younger years. His family owned a company in a niche industry, and the business had become quite profitable. But God intervened in this young man’s life, and he eventually sold his stake in the family business to enter…
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When Provision Disappears
In high school, I planned to become an orthopedic surgeon. As a committed athlete, I had spent my share of time in a doctor’s office getting wrists and knees and fingers repaired. Over time, I began to grow in my fascination for how the human body worked, and also for my doctor’s Rolex. Living in…
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Speaking for God
A research study in 2007 found that “getting rich and famous” was a high priority for young adults. Another found that one in three millennials wanted to be famous—with some even willing to sacrifice jobs and relationships to achieve it. One U.S. poll found that half of adults wouldn’t mind experiencing some measure of fame.…
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This is the Life
Once a year I head to Gateway Christian School to participate in a session of their life skills class for high school seniors. I pull my old Jeep CJ out of the garage and use it to teach them how to check and change their oil, jump a dead battery, and change a tire. I…
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Beyond the Broken Image
In high school, my algebra classes met in a classroom on the upper floor of our building, directly across from the restrooms. I remember that classroom more vividly than almost any other room from my academic career. It always seemed ten degrees warmer than the rest of the building, and the hallway carried the smell…
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