“Holy flattery”. That’s how Martin Luther described this shortest of Paul’s seven authenticated epistles since Paul uses every rhetorical technique, including bald flattery, to encourage Philemon to take back his runaway slave, Onesimus. Why Philemon, the letter, has become a favorite for me–especially when reading it aloud in a Bible Study group–is for the insight […]
A favorite ‘bucket list’ item of spiritual seekers is reading the Bible through at least once in their life, and preferably within a set time frame such as a year. Yet for many who have tried this noble undertaking, Leviticus often stands as the dividing line between the sheep and goats – between those who […]
May is an ideal time to focus on leadership, given all the graduations and accompanying speeches. One of the most stirring commencement talks I’ve come across is by the Admiral in charge of U.S. Special Operations Command, William H. McRaven. This link will take you to the speech he delivered at his own alma mater […]
Since our theme is leadership this month of May, let’s talk about a rather obscure event in Jesus’ ministry that illustrates one of leadership’s tougher aspects: declaring the sacred cows of our lives that are broken and need fixing. Matthew 21 tells one of those stories that can leave us scratching our heads more than […]
Women of the Old Testament – like *Sarah or Abigail, Esther or Hagar –are familiar enough through their stories that we probably have a sense of what they’d be like if we could sit down and talk over coffee. Some are testy (Sarah), others astoundingly courageous (Esther); some were put in life-threatening circumstances they brilliantly […]
