Bad Preaching Is More Deadly than Bad Surgery

In his essay "Sinsick," theologian Stanley Hauerwas explores the notion of authority using a medical analogy. If a medical student told his advisor, "I'm ...

Courage To Do 'Whatever It Takes'

Several years ago, an enormous financial crisis loomed in Europe. The very survival of the structure of the euro currency, if not the whole of Europe, ...

Mr. Heimlich Puts His Maneuver Into Practice

It's called the Heimlich maneuver—saving a choking victim with a bear hug and abdominal thrusts to eject a throat obstruction. Since its inception ...

Comedian Told to 'Embrace Bombing' to Get Better

The NPR radio show "This American Life" featured a story about a French comedian named Gad Elmaleh, probably the most famous stand-up comedian in France. ...

The Old Preacher's 67,600 Pages of Sermons

In Marilynne Robinson's beautiful novel Gilead, the old preacher John Ames starts digging through a box of sermons in his attic. One day he figures ...

Soccer Goalies Take Responsibility for Their 'Box'

When all three of my (Matt Woodley) boys started playing soccer I had to quickly learn the rules—like what is off sides, and what's a handball, ...

The 'Pastor' of the Chilean Miners

The book Deep Down Dark, by Hector Tobar, tells the story of the 33 Chilean miners buried 2000 feet underground for over three months back in 2010. They ...

Preaching Prepared a Man to Die

During the last days of the Third Reich, as Allied bombs rained down on Stuttgart and the Nazi terror writhed in its final death throes, Helmut Thielicke ...

Pastor, You Must Believe in God

There is a news story from Denmark about a Lutheran congregation that's seeking a new pastor. But the church has one non-negotiable but apparently ...

Our Servanthood Can Resemble a Garden Hose or a Sprinkler

In “Embracing Obscurity” an anonymous author wrote:

One evening, while watering the garden, the sheer sacrifice of true service overwhelmed ...