I spend a lot of time thinking about the state of the church in North America. What’s going right. More often, what’s going wrong and what we should do about it. For that reason, it’s incredibly helpful to remember that Christ’s Church is a lot bigger than I am, or my denomination is, or even all the churches in my continent are. Jesus said (and we will hear these words in a couple of weeks) that when he was lifted up he would draw all persons to him (John 12:32). When I see a picture like this one – of a young woman in Hyderabad, India, offering prayers with her community – I am reminded, humbled, and...

I realize that there is no category at tonight’s Academy Awards for “Best Film Dealing with Theology ,” but I can’t help wonder who the winner would be if there were. Now, I should be clear: by “theological” I don’t mean “religious.” We all have our favorite religious movie, I’m sure. But what I’m interested in here are the movies that delve into questions of life, death, destiny, meaning, and faith in an interesting and engaging way. Would it be The Descendants with its description of the broken and poignant relationships that are part and parcel of the human condition? Or perhaps The Help with its portrayal of the...

When I first think about how Carnival has evolved over the years into the massive pre-Lenten party it’s become around the globe, I’m tempted to wonder what happened: how did the Feast before the Fast get so out-of-control? But then I think about Jesus – the guy who was notorious for frequenting with the heavy party-goers and -throwers of his generation and think that perhaps we can and should look for God in both Feast and Fast, laughter and lament, delight and self-denial. In any event, it’s difficult not to be taken in by the exuberance of the smile on the face of this Brazilian dancer. I think Jesus would have...