Drew Downs
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The Gospel of Nice
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12 min read
I made waves in a book group a few months ago when I said that the Gospel isn’t about being nice. Or kind. Or being “a good person.” Like Jesus says to the pious young man (who was doing all the right things to be “a good person”) you haven’t done everything. You still have stuff.…
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The 2016 Presidential Campaign In A Nutshell
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1 min read
It’s Like Dinner. The 2016 presidential election reminds me of dinner. Namely the conversation around dinner. Like coming home and saying “What should we do for dinner?” And your spouse says: “Not spaghetti. #neverspaghetti” And you say “OK. We won’t do spaghetti. I’m hoping to hear what you actually want.” And they say “I’m really…
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Inheritance Transformed
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10 min read
It feels like we live in a divided country. But nothing divides more than inheritance. It sicks brother against brother. Sister against sister. Inheritance is not the blessing of ongoing protection but the curse of future division. In my own family, I’ve seen family members force a sibling to pay a double share while a…
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Why So Many Christians Support Black Lives Matter
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5 min read
You’ve seen the memes on facebook or watched the exchanges on television about the Black Lives Matter movement. You know its origin on Twitter and you know that a response sprang up just as quickly: #alllivesmatter. You know that somehow, a witness to the brutality of black bodies turned into yet another culture war moment…
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Jesus Doesn’t Teach Them How To Pray
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5 min read
Let’s be honest. The disciples asked Jesus how to pray. How. Not what. How. Teach us how to pray! They ask him. Jesus responds to their request with “When you pray, say:” Jesus doesn’t teach them how to pray. Proper 12C | Luke 11:1-13 If we remember back in chapters 9 and 10, Jesus is…
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More Than Parenting, Loving
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10 min read
The book had the most evocative title. It really seemed like it was written for me. Parenting Without Regret. Such a powerful statement in three words. And I felt the subtitle in my gut: “Raising Kids With Purpose, Not Perfection”. Deep and poignant. But when I picked up the book, I thought: This is like…