Welcome to my Blog
My Almost Weekly Blog Post speaks out of my need to grapple with things that matter. It is also an expression of the joy of learning. My love for Holy Scriptures leads the way, but as well you will find poetry and story and history and the great art of the ages. In the words of Jesus, I’m asking this question these days: “What are you looking for?” In a world gone awry, and in personal lives challenged every day, indeed, what am I looking for? We’ll try to give some answers to that question along the way. I hope you will join me.
Latest Posts
A Way of Being Human We Never Imagined Before
In his latest book titled After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters, the great N.T. Wright says that what the disciples discovered in Jesus was “a way of being human which nobody had ever imagined before. …”
What Might Be the Lessons From Chile?
We are still groping to understand the extraordinary sense of triumph as each of those 33 Chilean miners was brought to the surface in their banged-up, little tube.
What Happens When the Culture Collapses?
In her weekly Saturday column in The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan alerted me to an amazing article on the economic crisis in Greece. The article is written by Michael Lewis and appears in Vanity Fair. The discovery of this crisis took place with breathtaking speed …
John Henry Newman and the Soul of the University
We were in England this summer just days before the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. A visit from the pope of the Roman Catholic Church to Anglican England does not happen often, and such a visit is always fraught with some measure of tension.
Broken People and the Problem of Community
This is the season for the long evenings in our northern part of the world, and finally we are getting a taste of summer. I decided to go for a walk in downtown Seattle. … Quite a joyous scene, a feeling of genuine community. But I noticed in the midst of it all there were the broken people.
Choosing Our Stories Carefully
The late, great Jewish novelist Chaim Potok once said “we live in a world of colliding maps.” We construct our maps of reality out of the bits and scraps of information we have been given by our circumstances of history, culture, training, genetics, family, opportunity, and so on. This is our story.
King James, the Big Decision, and What to Do About Character
The over-hyped LeBron James circus is finally over. We can all take a deep breath now, a sigh of relief, and get on with our lives.
Soccer and the Meaning of America
I begin writing these reflections … several hours before the United States meets the Black Stars from Ghana in World Cup competition.
Video: A Message to Friends
Watch this brief video of President Philip W. Eaton. He shares some of his thoughts about responding to our challenging economic times, and what lies ahead as SPU strives to become even more effective and responsive to the needs of our world.
Can Politics Ever Provide the Solutions We Need?
I’ve been thinking about politics lately. I’ve been wondering why we are so endlessly barraged on a daily basis with the voices and faces of our politicians and political commentators. When some national or international crisis occurs, our political figures are the first to appear on our screens. Read more...
One Final Note on Character, Part IV
One Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, as we began a joyous dinner in our home with our whole family, I opened our time with a blessing for our meal. I gave thanks for our family as we gathered together to celebrate the baby Jesus on this sacred evening in the Christian calendar. Read more...
On Character and Education Again, Part III
When I was a young faculty member some years ago we often engaged in some fairly intense discussion about the role of the university in the life of the student. Some of the old assumptions needed to be challenged, to be sure. "The Times They Are a-Changin,” the great Bob Dylan reminded us so eloquently during those years. Read more...
On Teaching Character, Part II
Last week in the blog I was reflecting on the profound discouragement we all feel as we witness, on an almost daily basis, eruptions of ugly scandalous behavior in our midst. … “Doesn’t it seem to be worse than it used to be?” “And why is it so hard to talk about these things without seeming inappropriately judgmental?” I’d like to think about these kinds of questions again. Read more...
Can We Actually Teach Character Anymore?
It’s Saturday morning, my time for catching up on things, for some reading and reflection. I’ve been on the road so much lately, I have not attended to the news as carefully as I would like. But the news this morning is depressing. There is no better word for it. Read more...
Can We Actually Choose the Stories by Which We Live?
I have written and spoken at length about a comment made on my campus some years ago by the late, great Jewish novelist Chaim Potok. Potok said that day that “we live in a world of colliding maps.” We all construct our own little maps and stories of reality... Read more»
My Top Five (Or 10) Book Lists
I have put together a list of My Top Five Books. I have also included a list of My Top 10 Books of Literature. Personal, eclectic, even eccentric as any such list must be these days, nevertheless, these are great books, books that have hugely influenced my life and my thinking about things. I hope you find them helpful. Read more»
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Suffering, Hope, and Haiti
Over the last few days, we have been assaulted with the horrifying images of bodies being dumped into trucks, images of people not only without shelter... Read more»
Five Traits of a Great Leader
I have been thinking and writing lately about leadership. I don’t usually write about this topic, in part because I think there is too much writing and perhaps too little of the actual doing of leadership. Read more»
The Hammer, the Train Set, and the BB Gun
Our vivacious, ever-so-verbal, 2-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Esmee, told Santa Claus the other day that she wanted a yo-yo and a hammer for Christmas. … Should Santa comply, I’m a little worried about what that hammer might do around the house. Read more»
It’s Not That Easy Being Green
Kermit the Frog once said so eloquently, “It's not that easy being green.” Sometimes you'd like to be something nicer, like red, or yellow or gold or something much more colorful like that.” Read more»