There are as many as 27-30 million slaves in the world today. Yes, today. Today, January 11, 2012, is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. But just one day is truly not enough. And, honestly, "merely" raising awareness is just not enough. Fortunately, this year President Obama declared all of January as National Human Trafficking Prevention …
2011 Movie Favorites
I'm trying hard to remember what movies I saw in 2011. There was a time in my life that I saw a ton of movies. But, as many of you no doubt have experienced, that was Before Kids. Now we see a few here and there in the theater, and a few more On Demand. …
One goal to unite them all – 2011 Favorites
Well, after tonight's bad loss to the Philadelphia Flyers - their third loss in the last four games - it seems my beloved Chicago Blackhawks have entered their annual January swoon. As usual, Patrick Kane was right in the middle of the action, for good and ill. With about 8 minutes left in the game, …
Continue reading One goal to unite them all – 2011 Favorites
2011 Music Favorites
All you grammar pedants can rest easy: I'm not about to try to delineate over two thousand items. I mean that colloquially, this is my favorite music from last year. (Why not call them "the best of..."? Well, I guess because I know these are just my opinions. Just because I liked these things doesn't …
Why Bread?
My wife, Joann, and I are proud members of Bread for the World. Why? Because, for example: "Is not this the fast that I choose? To loose the bonds of injustice...to break every yoke? ...It is not to share your bread with the hungry?" (Isaiah 58:6-7) The biblical call for justice compels us to raise …
Today’s dose of awesome
It's December 30, so everybody and his brother and sister are offering "best of 2011" lists of all sorts. I too have thoughts on best album, best songs and best picture of the year. But right now I don't need to consider a year's worth of content. Just this evening, I saw two videos that …
Happy Christmas
Merry Christmas! The main reading for our Christmas Eve worship services was Isaiah 9:2-7: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined... For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of …
Am I an abolitionist?
Hi. I’m Dave. And I have 46 slaves working for me. Can I still call myself an abolitionist? Back in September, Slavery Footprint went live during the Clinton Global Initiative. The demand crashed their servers. I remember hearing about it in September and I’m pretty sure I even started through the process of calculating my …
Sermonating for Sunday…night!
This Sunday night is the first trial run for a new alternative worship gathering at my church. I'm definitely experiencing that typical emotional cocktail of excitement (We're doing something new! An idea of mine that others have helped birth!) and nervousness (What if no one attends? What if we suck? What if we think it's …
Dream big dreams
In the last year and a half we’ve seen report after report of teenagers (as well as kids not even yet in their teens) who have been bullied so badly that they took their own life. And there are many, many others who don’t take their own life, but who try to cope with their …
All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 