There is a lot of talk today about people quitting church. One significant contributing factor has been the very public fall of far too many pastors. I explain that here in a piece titled It Might Be Tempting, but I’m Not Quitting Church Anytime Soon. I am simply weary of…

Our schools and houses of worship are battle-worn from years of bickering over COVID, book bans, and politics. Our institutions are struggling to find nurses, police officers, teachers, and even pastors because their respective fields have become public battlegrounds. Local gathering places like grocery stores, movie theaters, schools, parks, and…

The fourth most under-resourced city in America. The second most stressed city in Pennsylvania. The first of fifteen peer cities in gun violence resulting in death. York keeps popping up in unflattering ways in the research. I moved to York almost 20 years ago. On three separate occasions, I have…

We Don’t Trust What We Don’t Know — A 2001 Gallup survey reported that 25% of Democrats and 23% of Republicans believed that crime had increased in their neighborhood over the last year. 20 years later, in 2022, those numbers have shot up to 42% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans reporting they are more fearful of crime. …

York County is a lovely place to raise a family. I wrote about that recently. That post generated a lot of enthusiasm for York but also some concerned private messages. One person asked, “I haven’t had the same experience in York as your family. I am looking at moving away…

State budget negotiations are full of false dichotomies. We are forced to choose loyalties between public, charter, or private schools. But is that really our only choice? While policymakers debate whether to spend more or less on education, perhaps we might ask, “How can we spend differently?” Is there a…

Today’s fruit tells us about yesterday’s seed — The farmer harvests the rewards of the investments made during planting season. He will reap what he sows. Our communities are reaping the fruit of what was sown some time ago. …

Easter Sunday is still the ultimate reset for the followers of Jesus. — That first Easter Sunday was the ultimate reset for the followers of Jesus. The old order of things had passed away, and the new had come. Death had died, and life in Jesus Messiah was now the ruling order of the day. In a modern age ruled by anxiety, division…

Allow Saturday to do its terrible work — Some days and seasons are darker than others. We need to learn to endure the gray, depressing periods of life because the likelihood we will face them is high. More than that, God’s grace and presence is the help we need in these dark hours. …