Even as they express concern for the future of the United States, the nation’s so-called “extremists” have for the most part set an extremely good example of how to express profound disagreement with radical civility.
My hope is that the jubilant victors in the marriage debate will respond in kind.
Inequality: Where Right and Left Agree
The money affluent parents invest in their kids for summer camp, piano lessons, and trips to France has skyrocketed to nearly $7,000 per kid per year, while there’s no increase in the lower two-thirds of families. Putnam calls it the “summer camp gap.”
The amount of time parents spend reading to children has increased many multiples for middle- and upper-middle-class families, with huge implications for brain development. Meanwhile, activities for public school kids that 20 years ago were free, like football, band, and chorus, now carry a price tag.
A parent with an income of $200,000 has no problem with this arrangement. But if you have an income of $16,000, and you have two kids, two semesters can set you back $1,600, Putnam said. “Who in their right mind would pay 10 percent of their income for their kids to take part in athletics or band?”
How a Southern Baptist leader became surprising voice on Confederate flag
Moore, 43, preached his message through a 21st-century means, with a blog post, that he typed in half an hour.
“The cross and the Confederate flag cannot co-exist without one setting the other on fire,” he wrote two days after nine black chuchgoers were fatally shot in an apparent hate crime in Charleston, S.C. “White Christians, let’s listen to our African-American brothers and sisters. Let’s care not just about our own history, but also about our shared history with them.”
As Knox would attest, our love for the deceased does not stop the moment their heart stops beating, so why should our care for them? For the small but growing group of people who are embracing the home funeral, proximity to the dead is the only thing that allows for anything like the modern-day “Good Death.” These people want to grieve as they’ve lived—not in an antiseptic, flower-filled reception room, but in a familiar, love-filled home.
Our lives give credibility to the story of Jesus. Our service gives opportunity to share that story. But you will not make followers of Jesus in your world until you tell them the good news of Jesus. Tell your story. Tell His story. And invite them to become part of the story.
I had a couple of links to articles by Jay Guin, but his site unfortunately is not working at present. Here are the links, should the site come up:
Jesus and Paul on the Hermeneutics of Sexuality: Richard Beck, Part 2
The Future of the Churches of Christ: Direct Hit, Part 1
Tim,
Thanks for the links. My site is back up.