Book Review: Being Mortal
The ethics of life and death continue to be an area for Christians to explore and seek to understand. I remember my first few weeks serving as a chaplain resident on trauma rotation at the University of Kentucky Health Care. The vicarious trauma that I witnessed left me paralyzed. More specifically, the fear of my own mortality became overwhelming. I witnessed the brevity of life each day with code blues, car wrecks, and traumatic...
Walking through Pain and Suffering: During and Beyond a Pandemic
As I’m writing this article, our world finds itself facing a pandemic. Like many, I’m wondering how to navigate through the difficult uncertainty of each day. Weeks feel like years for many. Each day is different. News about the severity (or lack thereof) of COVID-19 changes with each briefing from local and federal authorities. One thing is for certain: We will feel the impact of these strange times for years to come. The situation...
Pastoral Care to Persons with Suicidal Ideations
I suspect that, for the vast majority of people, trauma and mental illness go unattended and unprocessed.[1] Some recent talk has occurred about mental illness and the need to reach out to those dealing with this issue, but still these struggles are mostly kept secret. We face a problem where suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 123...
Book Review: Letters to an American Christian
The 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses are now only days away, ushering in a new United States presidential primary season. This noteworthy contest can indicate how a presidential candidate will do later in the primary season. However, the question is: how interested will voters be this election year? More specifically, how will Christians view their roles in public life and American politics? I’ve reflected several times over the last few...
What Working in a Hospital Has Taught Me About God
Edward Mote wrote just one hymn in his lifetime: “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.” Many sing this song in our churches today without ever reading about how the hymn came to be. Mote became a Christian as a young adult and soon started writing about his understanding of salvation. Later in the week of his conversion, Mote went to visit a friend whose wife was sick and dying. Not knowing how to comfort these friends in their grief,...
Recent Comments