My wife and I recently went to see the new movie, Hacksaw Ridge.  This is a man’s movie. It’s about conviction, courage, and bravery; qualities needed among Christian men in our day.  Mel Gibson’s new movie tells the story of Desmond Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist, who enlisted in the Army during World War II with the understanding he could serve as a…

Like so many other NFL football fans, I have been wondering what will Tony Romo have to say if he is permanently replaced by Dak Prescott as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.  Romo recently spoke to the media about his return to the team from his injury.  Sports writer, Will Whitmore, wrote, “Romo’s…

Oxford University Press (the dictionary publisher) recently named its international word of the year for 2016: “post-truth.”  Oxford defines post-truth as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”   Post-truth is not to be confused with “truthiness,” a term popularized…

I confess to being a country western fan.  I like the old stuff –  Merle Haggard, George Jones, The Oak Ridge Boys.   In my humble opinion, present day country doesn’t speak to the pain and struggle of life like the old stuff.  Anyway, during the recent CMA awards, the song of the year was “Humble and Kind,” recorded by…

This is my post election blog.  This election season has made clear that our national is deeply divided.  Christians are confused and anxious about the future.  Our voice is labeled, “extreme” and “irrelevant.” The days ahead will be difficult. I try to make sense of our cultural context, from the perspective of the  prophets.  Here is a sampling from Jeremiah.  “They spread…

Back in the 80’s there was a movie entitled, “Distant Thunder,”which depicted the followers of Jesus living in the last days.  Today, men who are awake to the movement of God’s Spirit in our fallen culture, are hearing the sound of distant thunder, warning them, among other dangers,f the coming “sexism tsunami.”  Recently I learned of a new phenomena among  young fathers. Courtney E.…

Bob Dylan was the  surprise winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.  According to the Swedish Academy, Dylan won,”for having created a new poetic expression within the great American song tradition.” In  ways I relate to Dylan.  We were both born in 1941.  He grow up in Northern Minnesota, where I am retired on the lake.  He had an influence on the youth movement of the early…

Since this blog site is concerned about a  healthy  expression of masculinity, I want to weigh in on Donald Trump and “locker room talk.”  To start with, I am conflicted about voting for the best of two deeply flawed candidates.  I am saddened by religious leaders who seem to be giving Trump a pass on his “toxic” masculinity.  We hear…

A “Quiet catastrophe” is what Nicholas Eberstadt in “Men Without Work”  calls the deterioration of work rates for American men.  “Almost one out of four men of prime working age (25-54) are not working.  Since 1948, the percentage of men aged 20 to 64 who aren’t working has doubled.  Fewer working-age men are working today than in…

LaShawn Barber wrote an article for “World” magazine entitled “the war on men.”  She referenced a student gathering at Claremont College in California meeting to discuss masculinity.  The common consensus was that masculinity “is harmful both to those who express it and those affected by it.”  So, where does this leave the average male? An…