I have two friends who are best friends. Each was the best man in the other's wedding. They talk every day, sometimes more than once, on their cell phones. They live only a few blocks from each other. Yet recently, one told me that he hadn't seen his best friend in two months—two months! That's more than a hundred phone calls, and countless chances to hop in the car or walk a few blocks to see ...

Here's a little experiment: start a sentence with the words "I believe…," and then finish it with something deeply heartfelt. It is impossible to do without feeling uplifted and stirred.

The need to declare our deeply held beliefs is an irrepressible aspect of being human. In the act of defining what we believe, we define ourselves. I am one who can discern what is true and real and noble and bind ...

Perfection, human perfection, is one of the rarest things on earth. The world of sports shows how rare, or short lived, perfection is for us. For example, last week (the week of July 20, 2009) as I walked out of the office and got into my car for my daily commute home, I turned on sports radio. The hosts were in the middle of an interview with White Sox ace Mark Buerhle, and they were excited. Soon ...

Early in his career, the great American playwright, Eugene O'Neill, wrote the imaginative play Lazarus Laughed. It's about Lazarus's life after Jesus raised him from the dead. Near the beginning of the play, guests from Bethany are gathering for a banquet in Lazarus's honor. They are all desperate to hear what Lazarus has to say about his experience. As they take their seats, one guest says, "The ...

Since becoming an internet juggernaut, Facebook has taken some real hits from folks. That tends to happen when something takes off in popularity. But the next time you wonder if it's of any value at all, especially for the church, you might want to consider the story of Avril Grube—a story that teaches us that the social networking giant can be used for a lot more than just cute status updates ...

According to a 2009 survey by Qwest Communications, 47 percent of Americans say they can last an hour at most before feeling "antsy" about checking email, instant messaging, or other social networking sites. Of those surveyed, 46 percent said they could only make it one day. The remaining 7 percent said they could probably go a week without checking in.

Each year, video game developer Eric Zimmerman hosts a contest in which designers must come up with a plausible video game concept based on an unusual theme. According to Zimmerman, the purpose of the challenge is to push for video games that set themselves apart from the usual offerings based on monsters, street fighting, or sports. Well, it's safe to say that if any of the concepts presented in ...

Dove soap has released a series of commercials that question the beauty industry's relentless pursuit of the "perfect woman."

In a commercial called "Evolution," a woman wearing no makeup walks to a chair and sits down. As the camera focuses on her face, we see a series of time-lapse pictures that show her "evolve" into a billboard model.

First the make-up artists tone her skin to perfection. Then ...

A Chicago Tribune article in early 2008 began: "For nearly 40 years, Ted Neeley has been Jesus. He's lived Him. He's breathed Him. He's spent nearly his entire lifetime researching Him." Though the opening words sound a little odd, they're actually true. Since the 1970s, Ted Neeley has been playing the part of Jesus in the popular musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Neely is now 64 years old—"nearly ...

In connection with their book Is Christianity Good for the World?, evangelical theologian Douglas Wilson and leading atheist Christopher Hitchens have hit the road to debate the issues that divide the two. Wilson's son, Nate, is riding along. In an on-line update about the tour for ChristianityToday.com, Nate shared what struck him most about the first few stops in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, ...