bad religion
In his landmark books Soul Searching and Souls in Transition, sociologist Christian Smith surveyed American young adults and found that most held to what he called “Therapeutic Moralistic Deism.” They’re deists because they believe God doesn’t interfere in our lives unless we need His help to solve a problem. They’re moralistic because they believe God wants us to be good and kind to each other. And their view is therapeutic because it makes them feel good about themselves.
good religion
As a pastor, I get interesting responses from people when they discover my vocation. Some will immediately apologize for the language they’ve used. Some offer a forced smile and then come up with an excuse to change the subject. One line I hear often is: “Well, I like Jesus, but I don’t like religion.”
a prophet and a roaring God
Amos is one of the most intriguing biblical characters, tucked away in the neglected corner of the Minor Prophets. I’ve struggled with the prophet partly because my son Seth once had a stuffed monkey named Amos. My main difficulty, however, has been that Amos is true to his calling as a prophet.
when giving isn’t helping
Street kids populate most intersections in Uganda’s capital city Kampala. I know many of the children by name, and when I’m stopped in traffic they regularly congregate at my car to talk and laugh with me.
how could she?
My little Ugandan neighbors, Joshua (age 10), Mirika (age 8), Ashaba (age 7), and Katseme (age 4), have had a difficult life. One day the police showed up at their small house and—in front of the children—tore off their father’s shirt and shoes, beat him, bound him, and dragged him off to jail. He was released a few days later,…
waiting to adopt
Few things are as beautiful as witnessing an orphaned child’s transformation when he or she is adopted into a loving and nurturing home. Each time I see a parentless boy or girl move from a state of starvation to good nutrition, from despair to hope, from abandonment to community, I hear the truth of Psalm 68:6 ring out, “God places…
taking root
A few years ago, I wrote about three street kids—Saddam, Moses, and Charles. At the time, I had helped lead them to a Christian home for children who had no other place to live. I thought the boys would be elated to leave their life of extreme suffering behind. But after only one month in his new environment, Saddam called…
all in the family
In his poignant article, Abba Changes Everything: Why Every Christian Is Called To Rescue Orphans, author and adoptive parent Russell D. Moore writes: “I was at first reluctant to adopt, because I assumed an adopted child would always be more distant than a child ‘of my own.’ I was wrong. And I should have known better. After all, there are…
spotless
I accidentally dropped my cell phone into the garbage can. It slid straight to the bottom, and when I pulled it out, it was covered with some kind of disgusting mystery goo. Horrified, I set to work spraying, scrubbing, and disinfecting. I didn’t stop until the phone was spotless.
God called the people of Israel to “sanitize” themselves. They’d been…
adoption option
In his Apology (AD 197), Tertullian argued that the Roman government should stop persecuting its best citizens. He said that Christians not only prayed for the emperor and the empire, but they also sacrificed for the sake of their neighbors. He said they pooled their money “to feed the poor and to bury them; for boys and girls who lack…
street kid sabbatical
I have a soft spot for Uganda’s street kids and have tried to help many of them enter church-based programs that provide food, housing, school fees, and quality mentors. Often, such efforts are rewarding. Occasionally, however, the outcomes are deeply disappointing—particularly when the children I’ve loved and invested in end up stealing from me and returning to the streets.
Last…
1.8 million
We’re talking 1.8 million. That’s the record-breaking number of people who swarmed the US Capitol grounds on January 20, 2009, to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama. That number—1.8 million—is also the heart-wrenching number of orphans struggling to survive in Uganda, the small country in East Africa where I live.
Daily, I witness some of Uganda’s parentless children striving…
