At the prompting of commenter Susanna in the prior post, I’d like to offer some additional thoughts on the two selves: public and private. “Public” refers to the outer professional self—the one everyone sees when I show up....

InterVarsity granted me a sabbatical from my regular duties for most of April through August of this year. Three observations from my time away: Ignorant of fatigue. Inside my regular routine I have trouble discerning how tired I...

Previous post: Part 5: From Here to Eternity I’ve included below a prayer of faith-dedication that I hope you’ll consider. It’s a big step. Only on the other side will you say, “I should have done this long...

Previous post, Part 4: Head, Heart, and Suffering The decades since my conversion have brought mostly blessings to my life, as I married Sharon Doeden, who contrasts sharply with her head-in-the-clouds husband by keeping both feet planted on...

Previous post, Part 3: History and Faith Back to my college-age self, I felt a boost of confidence in the idea that faith could be supported intellectually and not merely with feelings or intuition, not that the latter...

Previous post, Part 2: Renewal In those early days, faith was, for me, based mostly on emotion. Even truths such as God’s forgiveness were lodged in my heart more than in my head. The slingshot experience I’d had,...

Previous Post: Part 1 Had I not been in such a lowly state of mind, I might not have found God again. Sometimes, success and competence can stand in the way of faith. Faith tends to meet people...

When I was a boy of seven or eight years old, my dad told me a story that I never forgot. He recounted the frightening day of April 2, 1957, when his wife, “Tudy” Mattson, delivered a nine-pound...

-- Part 2 of this series is here Many people in the University start their thinking with something like this: 1. Truth is dependent on perspective. There's no absolute truth, only the perspectives of everyone at the table....

____ Recently, I felt the sting of public humiliation. I was criticized and mischaracterized in a public venue by another party. This felt very unfair. Rather than writing about that incident, I wish to ask the question, As...