Have you ever studied the topic of ‘messiology’? It has a ring to it. It is the study of how life is full of mess, how all of history is full of mess. How messes describe so much of what you and I experience day to day. Unless you’re different and somehow just plain more… Read More Embracing Mess: Lessons from Messiology for a New Year
2050 is not far away. Only twenty six years from now. I’ll be 91 years old, and hopefully still kicking. As I write this today, there is a global outage of some internet systems causing over 5,000 flights to be cancelled. In Bangladesh over 100 have died in a series of protests over university enrollment… Read More The World in 2050: Finding Hope in the Future Amidst Present Struggles
I love to read, write and teach history. My love of history goes back to when I was about 10 years old. A few months ago a beloved uncle died, one who fed this developing passion by sending me history books in the mail from about that same age. One of the great encouragements of… Read More The Call of a Historian: To Lament with Hope
Sometimes but not often I read a book several times. It could be a novel that I particularly enjoyed, or a history book that needs closer attention. Probably most often it is a book related to the journey of the inner life. A couple of weeks ago I picked up at a used bookstore a… Read More The Deeper Level of Letting Go
This is my first blog post on my own site since late August. The longest stretch I’ve ever gone between posts. As many of you know, my wife and I contracted covid-19 in late September. It was pretty brutal, though thankfully we were not admitted to the hospital or needing oxygen. But afterwards I had… Read More Where do we go from here?
With just over four months to go until the USA Presidential election, the apocalyptic language has begun. Have you seen it? It can go like this: if my party/candidate doesn’t win the election, it will be the end of the world! Or the end of civilization as we know it! Or in more religious language… Read More Will it be the end of the world if your candidate doesn’t win in November?
A mark of good character is to say when you are wrong. Not denying things, not pretending you are right when the rest of the world knows you are not. But like most of you, I find it so hard to admit it when I’m wrong. Ask my daughters if that is so, or my… Read More Have you admitted recently you were wrong?
It is a quiet weekend. For many, a time of respite in the midst of busy lives and not unwanted enforced rest. But for many others around the world, a time of fear, even panic. The enforced isolation has brought also news of loss of jobs, however temporary, or the dilemma of children needing care… Read More Emptiness in the age of refugees and coronavirus
If you have not been a reader of historical fiction, I encourage you to discover its beauty and power. A few months ago I wrote a post about this genre of literature, The Power of Historical Fiction. In that post I described the way historical fiction draws us in to the context of a place… Read More More on the power of historical fiction
I just finished helping lead a leadership training seminar for five weeks in South Asia. It was the ninth time we have done this, now in six nations over the last five years. Each time I so enjoy meeting and encouraging many younger leaders, most usually under the age of 30. It is always tempting… Read More Three Ways to Ultimate Success
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