Amazed at What I Didn’t Know
One of my richest aspects of living in the South has been learning about the African-American experience. Before I came here I thought I understood it. I could not have been more naively mistaken. I learned at the nation’s primary exhibits in Atlanta, GA; Montgomery, AL; and Jackson, MS. Month after month my church member and dear friend, Jerry, who’s with me in the photo, graciously interacted with me about what things were like in the past, and what still lingers. I’ve come to see politics and human rights at a much deeper level. Yet I’ve also seen how in…
Live As If
Judges 6–7 tells the story of Gideon. This guy was a wimp. He was in the smallest clan in the smallest Israelite tribe, which lived in defeat and fear of the enemy. Gideon was so fearful of being seen that he winnowed wheat (something people in the wind on a hilltop) in a winepress (dug low in the ground out of sight). But God was looking for someone to lead his people. He seemed particularly interested in finding a wimp to turn into a warrior. So he sent an angel to Gideon and said, “Greetings, mighty warrior!” Gideon probably looked…
Your Annual Growth
The greatest gift you can give yourself is the development of your own character. Think: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). You may or may not have a New Year’s resolution for 2020, but they typically rely on willpower. And willpower is like a battery with limited energy—it wears out and needs frequent recharging. That’s why resolutions so often fail. But if we use our willpower to develop simple habits that we do every day, the habits pave the way to…
A Tale of 3 Cities, #3: The City Not Called Terminus
In 1836 the State of Georgia built a railroad from Savannah toward the Midwest. In the middle of the woods in northern Georgia, they decided to stop construction. And they unceremoniously called the spot “Terminus.” That was its name, Terminus, and its only distinction was being the end of the line, where they placed the “Zero Mile Post.” The chief engineer said the place was “a good location for one tavern, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else.” It was in the middle of nowhere. Stay with me—and stay with Terminus. Terminus outgrew the man’s prediction,…
A Tale of 3 Cities, #2a: Jefferson Revisited
I previously wrote about Jefferson, Texas, as a town of people who thought riverboats would always keep them prosperous. They could not see the world changing, and they got left behind. Yet their story deserves a Part Two—and so might yours. When the 150-mile-long log jam, “The Great Raft,” was cleared downstream, the Red River water levels upstream, where Jefferson was, fell too low for riverboats to navigate. Finally they saw the need to adapt to the new development of railroads. But it was too late; they had previously turned down the offer of being a railroad center, and…
