Author and pastor John Piper published a blog on October 22 that has gained lots of attention, responses, and retorts. And the article has fostered a needed conversation among Christians about voting in this election. In the article, “Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin,” posted on the Desiring God website, Piper scathingly denounces Trump for his appalling character, not by name but without nuance, and he implies that voting for Trump cannot be justified just…
Remember where you were when you heard the news? I was sitting in my basement office at Bethel Baptist Church, a lovely country church on a crossroad in Westminster, SC. I was preparing for a funeral, pressed for time and not in the mood for much conversation, when someone banged on my door. I didn’t answer quickly enough, so the person knocked again, and without waiting opened the door. A local farmer stuck his head…
Historical figures are being targeted in America. And without much regard for history. Statues of Abraham Lincoln are in the crosshairs. Images of Christopher Columbus, Ulysses S. Grant, and even Matthias Baldwin have been vandalized, presumably due to their association with racism. Baldwin, by the way, was an abolitionist who once suffered a boycott on his railroad business because he advocated for the education of black children. So, there’s that. And then there are the…
It’s Memorial Day. Are you off work? Sleep in, cook out, enjoy the day. But also, remember why you have the day off in the first place. After all, it’s not about you. Memorial Day honors all those who have served our nation and paid for our freedoms with the sacrifice of their lives. While the history of Memorial Day has been punctuated with disagreement and even disunity, the occasional pothole hasn’t deterred our nation…
Leaders make choices, and one of the most significant is how they will lead. Some lead by position, power, or pride. Others by principle. In a 2018 interview with Business Because, Sarah Mangia, the senior director of the Leadership Initiative at The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business, explained that “We define principled leadership as the alignment of a leader’s behavior, or perceived behavior, with his or her values.” Yet, human nature…
Nike used Labor Day to roll out a 30th-anniversary “Just Do It” ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. “Believe in something,” reads the Nike tagline. “Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Nike needs to rethink its tagline. The truth is, since the first day, the NFL take-a-knee demonstration has lacked a simple but critical piece to any revolutionary, culture-bending, time-tested protest. Personal sacrifice. Effective protestors accept that sacrifice and perhaps great personal loss are real possibilities…