Gog & Myblog

In order to avoid the appearance of an open-ended endorsement of this particular person, I will refer to them as "X" (although I have heard him quoted warmly by one dearly beloved preacher). A few years ago as I was preparing to serve as a translator in Central America, I picked up the Spanish translation of a popular biography of WWII era theologian X. While my beliefs (and, the Bible, I tend to think) diverge sharply from some of X's published thoughts, it is hard to read his story without being impressed with his general character. I would like to share a few quotes from X's writings. Caveat lector , for I am producing my own English translation of a Spanish translation of X's German writings. So, the idea should be basically the same as the original, but the wording may be quite different. In fact, I am hoping that to be the case to prevent anyone from figuring out X's identity. But these were quotes I found to be powerful and thought-provoking...

I downloaded a new audio bible app yesterday and listened to Marquis Laughlin's rendition of the majority of Matthew today. I was blown away. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it's not. I have listened to many audio Bibles, but Marquis has made me see Jesus in a totally new way. Passages I had read and heard read my whole life suddenly made my jaw drop. Things Jesus said that I used to take for granted suddenly sounded incredibly shocking, at times harsh, even offensive. There was nothing that Jesus said that was forgettable. I hung on Jesus' every word. He commanded my respect and that of those with me as crowds of us listened to him teach. So often Jesus is presented as this ethereal, transcendent, hippie-type. But listening today, he sounded more like the Matrix's Morpheus, someone tough and strong, gritty even, with superhuman knowledge of a realm beyond my vision. Jesus wanted to lead me and the rest of his followers into a challenging and dangerous adventur...

"Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquities without end?" (Job 22:5). In times of pain and discouragement, I often see people telling the afflicted, "Don't worry, everything will be ok," "your wife is in a better place," or "we'll understand it all one day." But wouldn't it be better to use a more poignant scripture like Eliphaz's thoughtful remark to Job that he probably was suffering because he was a terrible person? There are loads of deep, meaningful passages in the Bible that we can use just like that. One of the most effective methods we can utilize to comfort someone in pain is to remind them about how wicked people suffer horrendous pain, and then passively insinuate that most likely their grief is a result of their hatred for homeless people. I guarantee you, use this one little known trick, and your conversations with hurting people will change dramatically. Try memorizing this verse, and break it out when som...

It genuinely scares me to see the racial tension in our country lately. All around, people are angry. Riots break out, store windows are smashed, people are screamed at, shot, run over, sometimes for no more than being a certain color. There is this seething rage that makes it impossible to have human interaction, much less spiritual relationships, possible. Calm, reasoned discourse gets thrown out the window. There is violence on every side. I thought so much of this stuff was behind us and it's terrifying to realize that it's not. Not only is this situation scary, it also doesn't make any sense. People literally have zero choice in their skin color. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin?" (Jeremiah 13:23). It also has zero correlation with their character. "...Behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues , standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes..." (Revelatio...

Some of the saddest stories recorded in the Bible involve spiritually weak or rebellious people finding themselves isolated, with no one to push or pull them back onto the right path.  With very few exceptions (like Jeremiah), no one was around to push the nation of Judah back onto the narrow path in the years before their captivity. "From the prophet even to the priest everyone practices deceit. They heal the brokenness of my people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' but there is no peace" (Jeremiah 8:10-11). A storm was swift approaching which would obliterate the nation because of their sins, but very few people were doing the difficult work of pleading and rebuking on God's behalf.  It takes a special kind of person to have the moral fortitude to tell someone they are doing wrong and need to change. Most people are too afraid to do it. Living a life of moral compromise does that to a person. But there are some people who are passionate about God, wh...

Until I was sixteen, we lived out in western Limestone County, far from the lights of the towns of Athens and Rogersville. You could see a lot of stars at night. Many nights were spent out on the front porch, admiring the sky as we sat on the swing or on the steps, listening to the chorus of the frogs down at the pond. Sometimes dad would take my sister and I out onto the lawn and we would lay on our backs to look for satellites or shooting stars until the bugs in the grass started bothering us.  Tonight my mind is swirling with emotions: fear, anger, confusion, disappointment. At the same time there is thankfulness, and even peace. Sometimes things happen that can't possibly be anticipated. Sometimes those things are good; other times they are hard and painful. Maybe those times are also good, just in a different way.  I don't always know how to process thoughts like these.  But one thing that always helps me is to just breathe some fresh air. Get out of the o...

When I was 21, I befriended Hector Chavez, a Guatemalan Christian who is around my age. We spent hours together every week, him teaching me Spanish and how to cook plantains, and I teaching him a little English. I soon became obsessed with learning Spanish and developed a strong desire to understand Central American culture. I bought a plane ticket bound for Guatemala later that year. I would go alone, with zero personal contacts in the country. Thankfully my friend Leah Donahue had a relative, David Raif, living there, who put me in touch with a brother in Christ named Jeronimo Cox. Many American brethren know of Jeronimo but to me he was a complete stranger. But from the moment I met him, Jeronimo and his late wife, Hipolita, treated me like their son. They were as different from any American couple as I could possibly imagine, but it took about 5 seconds to realize that they were quality people that I wanted to know and understand deeply. My first Sunday there was also my first ...