“Wood drastically” – “Wood ‘drastically underestimates the impact of social distinctions predicated upon wealth, especially inherited wealth.’ You got that from Vickers, ‘Work in Essex County,’ page 98, right? Yeah, I read that too. Were you gonna plagiarize the whole…
Having been unable to see my friend, who lives just across the border from me, for roughly two years during Covid-19, I was a little startled when we met and he immediately said to me, “you got grey.” I had,…
Welcome to Ref21! It probably sounds strange to be welcomed to a page that you have read for nearly twenty years! Ref21 has been a staple of daily Christian reading for literally thousands of believers. So, why act as if…
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” “The church is full of hypocrites.” That’s often the conclusion of those who have been there, seen it, tasted the potluck and the politics, and decided that, on the whole, a…
“You shall not steal” – Deut. 5:19 Back when Immanuel Church Nashville was first planted, Ray Ortlund made a case for spending money so people could have Starbucks brand coffee in the lobby. Setting aside the fact that Starbucks coffee…
“Honor your father and mother…that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” If we were to put together ten rules for constructing a…
What use are the Ten Commandments today? We already know them, and we already know no one follows them. Except Jesus, and that’s why we need him. Let’s move on. Yet, as Treebeard would say, let’s not be so hasty.[1]…
We are rounding the curve into the reckoning phase. When disaster strikes, people (or communities, or nations) often move through three stages: crisis triage, reckoning/ regrouping, and finally redirecting. Crisis triage looks like keeping the ship afloat and surviving till…
Back in Superbowl 2020, Michelob Ultra ran a commercial promising that, for each 6 pack you buy, they will help transition 6 feet of farmland to be organic. When you do the math, the actual impact of Michelob’s commitment seems…
One pandemic leads to another. Because our lives are never compartmentalized, we can expect that the effects of a global epidemic will not be limited to the metrics of active cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. We know that natural disasters, such…
