An article in the New York Times says that “People-watching is to New York City what vista-gazing is to the Grand Canyon.” It suggests riding a subway from one end to the other to… “Watch the ethnicities change, and the reading material – from Bibles to library studies textbooks to ethnic newspapers. Are the smilers […]
If I could write an open letter to some of the friends I’ve had who didn’t buy my reasons for faith in Christ, I think I would imagine them as a person I’ll call Aaron and write something like this. “Dear Aaron, I hope you are doing well. I miss our conversations. Even more, I […]
Earlier this morning I bumped into a friend at the coffee shop. Asked me if I had a couple of minutes. Told me that his wife was diagnosed last week with brain cancer. Said they were praying for a miracle. As I replay the brief conversation in my mind and try to imagine what he […]
Was ready for the return flight from Tel Aviv to the US, even though any trip to the land of the Bible seems like an undeserved chance of a lifetime for me. Once home, was also more tired than usual. After a week of fighting a “travelers’ bug” and working under a hot, June, Israeli […]
As the Jewish people enter the evening of their weekly Shabbat (Sabbath), our team is heading for Ben Gurion airport–tired, and ready to go home. Our last meeting with a group of scholars involved a conversation on the northern lakeshore of Galilee. Together with the eight professors pictured with me here, it was pretty amazing […]
Our second day of production began early as we tried to beat the heat. After loading hundreds of pounds of equipment on the bus, we headed for the Southern Steps that led up to the Jewish Temple in the days of Jesus. This area is interesting because archaeologists say that some of these steps date […]
Wasn’t able to post something on arrival last night in Jerusalem, but did get a picture of a new section of “the holy city,” at night, out of my hotel window. The 10 hour flight from Newark to Tel Aviv was long but uneventful (except that the plane’s video system wasn’t working :-). Even caught […]
I’m traveling today to Jerusalem to work with our Day of Discovery team on a new series of “land of the Bible” programs. As I prepare to leave I’m reminded of some thoughts I had after returning from a similar assignment a couple of years ago. What I wrote is a bit long for a […]
What do I need to hear again today? My guess is that it’s something like– Get knowledge–but don’t depend on your knowledge. Seek to be wise-But don’t depend on wisdom. Work hard–but don’t depend on hard work. Work smart-But don’t ever depend on your own cleverness and efficiency. Make plans. But don’t depend on plans. […]
As the last two US Democratic primaries are held today in South Dakota and Montana, I’ve been thinking again about the different ways followers of Christ enter a voting booth. During the course of this lengthy election process, with far more to come, it’s been clear that some of us believe we have an obligation […]
