The reports from Israel have been horrific. On Oct. 7, 2023, invaders from the Hamas organization had penetrated the state of the art defenses of Israel. They had attacked some military targets, but much of […]
Category: Culture
Pete’s top ten (er, dozen) albums of 2021
The best new music released in 2021 that had my record player and my head spinning are often outside of the mainstream. But I’m me and I like what I like. So here they are […]
Waiting for a Covid vaccine & waiting for Jesus
As a kid, I couldn’t wait for Christmas. I ached for it to arrive. Growing up in Southern California, we didn’t get snow like we do where I live now in Bend, Oregon. But in […]
The three-step process to justice
We are living during a time where there are repeated calls for justice. That’s good, but it’s not enough. And I’m worried that the current emotional fervor will be wasted and the opportunity lost for […]
Why the system is broken
I take breaks from the news and social fairly often. What I read can be too much for me. So, I need to walk away for the sake of my emotional and spiritual health. There’s […]
Are white evangelical Christians racist?
I was raised in a very conservative Christian church. I remember at one point in the early 1980s my Dad saying he embraced the term Fundamentalist. The term has changed a lot since then and […]
Never color blind
I have poor eyes And always have. Both near and far away, Things blur into an indistinct haze. Corrective lenses offer a crisp clarity When I slide my glasses on. But I have never been […]
Dear Black America, I’m listening
The worst I’ve ever feared from a police officer is a traffic ticket. And the roughly ten times I’ve been pulled over, I’ve never worried about things escalating to the point of being removed from […]
Social distancing & the call to holiness
We’ve been in a weird time where our culture has required us to separate ourselves from one another. At the same time, we’ve been incredibly focused on cleanliness. As a hospital chaplain, I wander all […]
Coronavirus & the problem of the “greater good”
The greatest evils in the world have been committed by those committed to a concept of the “greater good.” People are willing to commit small scale evils for personal gain or pleasure, but every large-scale […]
A view on coronavirus from inside the hospital
I’ve been working as a hospital chaplain for several years. It’s a unique job where almost every part of the hospital is open to me while the rest of those who work in the hospital […]
How Coronavirus affects our mental health
Anxiety arises from knowing about something and being unable to do anything about it. And our globalized, always-on information era provides not just a deluge of information, but a deluge of anxiety as well. In […]
Praying for a good leader for the nation
During an election year, there’s no psalm that’s more relevant than Psalm 72, a prayer for a good leader for the nation. In every place around the world and in every era, there has been […]
Five albums that moved me in 2019
I wasn’t going to add my voice to the many others who crowd the end of each year with their evaluations of the new music released in 2019. But here I am, doing just that. […]
In a world where image is everything, our lives are Moving Pictures
[Published in the shadow of Neil Peart’s death on 7 January 2020.] I was in 8th grade when Moving Pictures was released. And I can still recall sitting transfixed in front of the massive family […]
2020 vision: What will actually happen during the next decade
Year endings and decade endings have people looking backward and forward at the same time. There’s something arbitrary about our calendars. And yet, we all use them and they shape the way we live our […]
You are not a personality type
You are complex. You cannot be reduced to a single number or to a four-letter personality type, as the Enneagram and Myer-Briggs tests try to do. There’s far more to you than that. But we […]
The gospel according to Kanye (part 2)
On Friday morning, I looked at my phone to see a text waiting for me. It was from my 17-year-old son who is taking a semester abroad, living with several families in Mexico. He was […]
A thought on ending racism
The way to tighten the bonds of a group is put them through an ordeal, to make their lives difficult, to make them feel persecuted, to make their cause seem unfairly attacked. The way to […]
Taylor Swift’s False God
I have three teenagers and we listen to a lot of music. I also coach high school volleyball and lead a discipleship training program for teens. I am around teen culture a lot. I don’t […]
Psalm 73
A rendering of Psalm 73, which struggles with envy of successful celebrities until worship brings essential clarity.
Bad leaders & deaf cobras
When Saddam Hussein was driven from power, the people of Iraq danced in the streets. They tore down his statues. They celebrated the end of his tyranny. Having grown up in a country with strong […]
Avril Lavigne & the Psalms
I remember first listening to punk-pop Avril Lavigne with her heavily mascaraed eyes singing about her skater boy and giving the finger to anyone who got in her way. There was a true passion in her, […]
Psalm 12
A rendering of Psalm 12, a prayer for help in the surrounding culture’s war of words.
Psalm 2
A rendering of Psalm 2, a prayer in the midst of the world’s noise that turns our attention to God’s Messiah.
Separating children from their parents
During the recent and well-deserved hubbub about the government policy which separated parents from their children because of immigration issues, my friend Les Yoder posted the following comment and statistics, all of which bear repeating. […]
Praying our social media
In the last decade, social media has gone from a novelty to a fixture in most of our lives. With the car and airplane, radio and recorded music, movies and televised entertainment, computers, and phones […]
Laws exist where love doesn’t
The only reason we need laws is because we lack love. Laws exist to protect relationships. When our relationships are robust, there’s no need for laws to protect them. But when the bonds tying people […]
The magic of technology & the dissatisfied life
The more humans have become enamored with technology, the more we’ve become enamored with magic. The two are actually the same thing: A desire to control and change our circumstances. Contrary to popular belief, the […]
The birth of King Jesus & how we celebrate Christmas
My Sri Lankan friend Prabo Mihindukulasuriya has the most amazing name ever. He also has keen insight. And he shares the following words about the birth of Jesus — as King — and how it […]
Thor: Ragnarok & life in America
Marvel Studios has ruled the box office for more than a decade, spinning out movie after movie in the most lucrative franchise since James Bond. At the heart of their financial success, I believe, is […]
Kevin Spacey & the out-of-control life
In the wake of the flood of #MeToo stories of women being abused by men have come a second flood of stories of men being abused by men, with the current trend being stories about […]
Halloween is about being a good neighbor
Some people just don’t like Halloween. I can understand why. Its pagan roots. The frenzy for candy. Yet another American form of consumerism. I get it. But I love Halloween. Dressing up is fun — […]
Raising #NotMe kids in a #MeToo world
I’ve been saddened over the past few weeks to read the #MeToo stories of women abused by Harvey Weinstein and others. And that sadness has deepened into grief as women I know personally have added […]
Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein & the abuse of women
I used to love Bill Cosby, but I can hardly listen to him anymore. I memorized so many of his hilarious stories when I was in junior high, I could recite them word for word. […]
The cure for political angst
Every now and then, I quit social media. My Facebook friends get too whiny with their politics, too woe-is-me about the world. My Twitter feed gets too full of sarcasm about the most recent news […]
17 ways to foster neighborliness
We have lost the art of being neighbors. Our cars have killed it, keeping us from walking our neighborhoods as we jump into them and speed away without talking to anyone. Our phones have killed […]
Unfashionable faith
So, maybe we should just stop trying to stay in fashion.
Hugh Hefner, Playboy & the death of sex
I remember the first time I saw a Playboy magazine. I was about 11 and an older neighbor has stolen a copy from the nearby 7-11. Not yet to puberty, it didn’t have the effect […]
What are you pursuing?
If there is a motto for America, it is simply this: Pursue happiness. It’s sometimes rephrased as “follow your heart” or “follow your dreams,” but the idea is the same. Meaning and direction for life […]
No more whiny Christians!
For my entire life, I’ve heard fellow followers of Jesus complain about what they read in the newspapers and see on TV. “The world is going to hell in a hand basket!” they complain. “Our […]
Entering life by facing death
Death is all around us. We deal with it almost on a daily basis. All kinds of deaths. Deaths of dreams. Deaths of careers. Deaths of dignity and reputation. Deaths of the body. Deaths of […]
The Empire is always recruiting
Mine is a Star Wars family. I was in the last days of 4th grade when what is now called Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope came out. I was mesmerized and saw it in […]
Wonder Woman & the problem of violence
We need strong women in movies and fiction. The helpless, screamy women of far too many movies offer little to the imaginations of girls and boys who see them on their screens — girls who […]
Worship that reorders our imaginations
There’s a lot more to worship than singing some songs and hearing a sermon, with prayers and an offering interspersed between them. There are also a number of purposes for worship, but I want to […]
Why we should do our good deeds publicly
There are a lot of things Jesus said that rarely get repeated and a handful that get repeated often. Among the often-repeated is this: Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others […]
October in June
I have been a U2 fan since War was released in 1983, during my sophomore year in high school. I wish I could say I’ve followed them since their first album Boy, but I think my third […]
Prepare to be offended — cussing, political correctness & the word “like”
At a party we hosted, we set down one ground rule for the evening: No using the word “like.” That’s it. Malefactors would be required to put a sticker on their face for every use […]
A different citizenship. A different hope.
We live in a world of beliefs. We are told that if we just invest ourselves fully in certain human endeavors, we can save ourselves and we can solve the problems of the world. Politics, […]
A return to neighborliness
I didn’t vote for Donald Trump and I didn’t participate in the Women’s Day marches, but it’s essential to me that I am in neighborly relationships with both sets of people who did. Neighborliness requires […]
The Gospel according to Elf
Each December, we engage in retelling our favorite stories. The all-time favorite at this time of year is of the birth of Jesus. But we’ve got other favorites that get repeated each December. And one […]
Telling the truth
I was reading excerpts from a Ryan Adams interview about his upcoming album and came across this gem: “How do I make a real distinct record where anybody listens to it and says, ‘That’s the […]
Captain America & the problem of power
When the first Avengers movie hit the theaters, some pointed out that the devastation depicted in it to New York City was worse than that of 9/11. The good guys did more damage than terrorists. It was […]
Technology & the death of culture
As J.R.R. Tolkien lay in bed, convalescing from trench fever during World War I, he fleshed out much of his conception of Middle Earth, the backbone of his mythos behind The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The […]
Honoring politicians we don’t like
“Honor the emperor.” Those three words hang by themselves in 1 Peter 2:17. The verse makes four imperative statements, the first three being pretty run of the mill for the Scriptures, until we get to […]
Regaining our humor in an overly serious political climate
A few months ago, I was with a group of teenagers, waiting to be let into a county fair. That may or may not sound like fun to you, but the group was in good […]
An open letter to Hollywood about guns
Dear Hollywood (whoever you are), Thank you for so many beautiful and entertaining movies over the years. You have filled my imagination with incredible stories that have forever shaped my life. Babbette’s Feast showed me […]
Integrity
An integer is a whole number, not a fraction. It is complete. Nothing hiding. Not cracked. Unbroken. Integrity has to do with being an integer — being whole, honest, unhidden, lacking deception. My oldest son is […]
The devil’s #1 tool is …
I fall into all kinds of temptations. Most of them are pretty obvious and lack creativity. Lust. Envy. Sloth. Pride. The typical seven deadly sin stuff. It’s all pretty dull and garden variety. We all […]
10 tech commandments for a too-teched world
I am no technophobe. No Luddite, I gladly use by iPhone, my laptop, my car, my table saw, my stereo, my furnace, my dishwasher, and many other tools and devices. But our technology has become […]
The Orlando attack & the culture clash behind it
The horrific assault on Pulse Orlando and the 50 or so deaths caused by one man with guns brings up all kinds of questions. For some, this is a question about access to guns and […]
Prophets & comedians
Can a comedian or a poet save the world? Back in April 2016, U2’s Bono suggested that the best way to combat terrorism isn’t with bombs, but with laughter. He said, “Don’t laugh. I think comedy […]
Gender rebellion: a thought
We are in the midst of a full-throttled gender rebellion, with gender reassignment procedures as the ultimate form of this rebellion. I’m wondering if part of what is fueling this rejection of societal norms for […]
Don't vote for evil.
As this year’s presidential campaign continues, I am asked more and more often, “What do I do? I can’t decide who to vote for. I don’t like either of the two main candidates.” Now, there […]
What brands do you label yourself with?
As my volleyball team gathered around me for the beginning of practice, one of my players said to me, “Hey, coach, everything I’m wearing is Nike.” She was proud to be a Nike girl, but […]
Sorry, Tennessee, but making the Bible your state book is probably a bad idea
Today, the Tennessee Senate approved House Bill 0615, which designates the Bible as its state book. I think that’s a well-intentioned mistake. While the Bible speaks to every person in Tennessee and to all the world […]
Bono: The unsettling question asker
Bono is a master question asker, peppering every U2 album with questions, rarely paired with answers. Questions send us on quests. They pull us out of ourselves, requesting that we get up and move and […]
Why taxing churches would hurt more than help
There is a meme bouncing around the net which suggests that taxing churches would reduce the tax burden on everyone else to a mere 3%. If it were true, that’d be a huge incentive to […]
The gospel according to March Madness
I love college sports and so do my kids. And as much as we enjoy college football’s bowl season, NCAA basketball’s March Madness is the highlight of our sports viewing year. But there’s something disturbing […]
When superheroes aren't so super
My family watches a lot of superhero TV shows and movies. Just about every Marvel and DC release is consumed with relish, even the schlocky ones. We need heroes. They embody our desires for ourselves. […]
The gospel according to Kanye
Like everyone in our media-drenched culture, I get a lot out of celebrity screw-ups. We love the abilities that celebrities share with the world — whether they are musicians, athletes, politicians, actors, artists, authors, or […]
Destroying the "wall of hostility" — multiculturalism & the kingdom of God
It’s only in the past few years that Hollywood has finally become truly multicultural, with entire casts featuring lead and supporting actors who aren’t mostly white. And what’s been so great is that it hasn’t […]
Some civility, please!
Last night, my daughter showed me a meme comparing Donald Trump to Adolph Hitler. On one hand, it was a pointed critique of some truly disturbing rhetoric by him. On the other hand, it was […]
Morality vs. Moralism
Morality is a decision-making system which gives the ability to judge between right and wrong. It is a ruler by which things are measured and found to be worthy or not. It is a filter that strains out the […]
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer & the birth of Jesus
Each December, we engage with the same stories over and over again. On one hand, we’ve got the birth narrative of Jesus. On the other hand, we’ve got a collection of well-loved holiday movies Year […]
What our phones reveal about what we value
The entire time I was growing up as a kid, we used the same rotary phone, adding a second wall phone to the same line somewhere along the way. But after being given the first […]
Sorrow & joy in an age of terrorism
Evil is restless. Terrorists are amped up on a double dose of wide-eyed purpose and wild-eyed adrenaline. When you’re willing to kill in the name of an ideal and then go out with a bang, […]
Welcome to a post-Christian world (it's not as bad as it sounds)
We Westerners live in a post-Christian world. But don’t worry. It’s not what it sounds like. What it means is that Christianity as a cultural force is no longer the power it once was. What […]
The problem with red cups & the problem with having a problem with red cups
So, people are upset about red cups at Starbucks. And other people are upset about people being upset about red cups at Starbucks. And how weird is it that my blog features a red cup […]
Justin Bieber and what it means to believe
A few years ago, Justin Bieber came out with an album called “Believe.” (Yes, I’m writing about the Bieber. He’s made some very interesting comments about his own faith recently and has a new album […]
Choosing the old & the relational in our disposable culture
We live in a disposable culture. Not only are things disposable, but people are disposable. Anne Hathaway is only 32 years old and an Oscar-winner, and yet she’s already being passed up for movie roles […]
Kim Davis & when faith forces you to lose your job
There’s something appealing to watching a person stick with her convictions and suffer for them. It’s the stuff of inspirational movies about inner city teachers and coaches who turn around losing teams and such. And […]
Tom Brady, cheating, and forgiveness
So, Tom Brady got away with cheating. At least, that’s how all but New England Patriots fans see things. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t need to have his personally selected footballs deflated in order […]
Erotic spirituality — the good, the bad, and the ugly of combining faith and sexuality
What is the relationship between sexuality and spirituality? In many ways, sexuality has become its own spirituality. And in the process, it has coopted church music and biblical language to articulate it. Ray Charles has […]
Trans Jenner — discontent in a culture of self-creation
It’s amazing how quickly the culture shapers have embraced gender change. Jenner won the courage award on the ESPYS and anyone who disagreed was shamed. Siri refuses to use the name Bruce Jenner, always changing it to […]
Living in the moment & hoping for the future
We all live in an eternal now. Everything in our lives is in the present tense. The past is gone and untouchable and the future is unformed and unhatched. This moment right here is all […]
Confederate flags, modern slavery & American tokenism
So, public outrage forced the South Carolina legislature to take down the Confederate flag. Yippee. Americans should be so proud of ourselves for such a great accomplishment. OK. I’m being ironic. The truth is: We […]
The importance of patriotism (and its limits)
I am an American and grateful to be one. I have visited more than 20 countries and have lived for five years in Canada. Living outside of my home country and traveling widely around the […]
A nation divided & the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
A few years ago, I had the chance to walk part of the Mall in Washington, D.C., and spend time in the Lincoln Memorial. Along with the huge and stunning sculpture of this gaunt giant […]
Dear Canada, thank you for being so awesome.
Dear Canada, You’re awesome. Really. I loved living in the Great White North for five years. And I will always be grateful that my oldest child was born in Vancouver. Thank you for excellent comedians. […]
Preaching the gospel with Motown soul
He’s got that timeless voice and that classic look which make you shake your head when you hear that he’s only 25 years old and his first album just dropped this week. But Leon Bridges is the […]
How to deal with a world hostile to faith
These are tough days to be a Christian. They always have been difficult, and each generation deals with different difficulties in different ways. But the hostility nob is getting turned up and it’s easy to want to […]
Things that make my heart hurt about the Charleston massacre
As the news unfolds about the young white man who entered an historic black church and killed nine people there, a number of things have passed through my head and heart, making me hurt along […]
Does history have a "right side"?
The phrase “the right side of history” has been tossed around a lot recently. It’s been used most recently in the debate surrounding same-sex marriage and in relation to domestic violence issues. Senator Richard Blumenthal […]
The importance of singleness in a world infatuated with romance
Every single day, my Facebook page shows wonderful pictures of couples celebrating their anniversaries together. I love it. Marriage is to be celebrated and enjoyed. The writer of Hebrews tells us in no uncertain terms: […]
The new feminism of ass-kicking babes
The stories we tell shape who we are. Take a quick look at the movies and TV shows you’ve watched on Netflix, Hulu, or whatever other way you ingest your video, and you’ll have a […]
The books we read shape the way we live
The books we read, the stories we immerse ourselves in, give us an imagination for how to live the rest of our lives. So, when I come across one that shows me a better way […]
Protest violence and Martin Luther King's dream
We gave Martin Luther King, Jr., a holiday and put his dream on the shelf. That often happens when those who led from the margins are officially recognized. Because of the role he played in […]
Ignoring the wisdom of the past at the expense of our future
I’m not a curmudgeon. I don’t get sentimental about the supposedly good old days. I don’t gripe about kids these days. This world has always been a marvel and a mess. Kids have always been […]
Of Jesus, flowers, and same-sex weddings
The court cases are adding up. People, often Evangelical Christians, are catching flak for not being willing to provide a service to same-sex couples for their weddings. We’ve had bakers, photographers, and more recently florists who […]