A few years ago when I was teaching 7th grade, we would take each section of our students to the Dallas Life Foundation — a long-term shelter for men, women, and children without a home where individuals and families received their basic needs but also were trained in certain practical skills and fed spiritual nourishment. […]
Tag: christian
Remembering our Imperfections — The Japanese Tea Bowl
Today, I pulled out from the dryer one of my many white, TCA coaching shirts while I was washing my clothes and cleaning my new condo. As I indelicately shoved the white, chipping hanger through the top of the shirt’s neck hole – my irrational impatience and anxiety withholding me from attempting the struggle of […]
2016 in Review: The 3 Most Viewed Articles on The Displaced Pilgrim
Since May when I created the Displaced Pilgrim, I have been a bit discouraged with my writing and reading habits. This disillusionment with myself has led to a seeming dearth of meaningful reflection and a stagnation of the heart. In this perceived state, it is like I am incapable of connecting empathetically and compassionately to […]
We, Keepers of a Bound God
As I began my Christmas break, I perused my bookshelf trying to find a novel I hadn’t read but purchased impulsively somewhere along the way. My eyes fell upon the blackened spine of McCarthy’s seminal novel, Blood Meridian, and after I recalled the high praise a few friends of mine gave the story, I thought, […]
On Politics, Refugees, and Love — A Christian’s Response
“The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” – Walter Brueggemann During the summer months, my Church studied the minor prophets in order to be reoriented to what it means to restore our community (and world) with […]
Sitting with Loneliness
Recently, I bequeathed one of the very few prize heirlooms from our family – the McGee couch. For 20 years this extra long and extra wide plaid couch adorned either our game room, living room, or study. When my parents moved to a smaller house in the country, it ended up nearly consuming half my […]
Geti’s Story — Fleeing her Taliban Husband
Shrieks filled the air, followed by the occasional whimper and whine, as kids bounded unaware of each other around the Frankfurt park covered by a panoply of fully-leaved trees. Scrapped knees and bruised egos caused many kids to scamper back to their parents who were underneath the white tents outside the ice-cream shop. They would […]
Leon Bridges and Asad — A Middle Eastern’s Story of Forgiveness
(Italicized below are the lyrics to Leon Bridges’s song, “Lisa Sawyer.” As I went to a coffee shop in Europe to write this, the Ft. Worth native was gently singing about Lisa’s life and eventual encounter with Jesus. I couldn’t help but connect the lyrics, ever so loosley, to Asad’s story.) She was born in […]
My Displacement in Athens
After engaging in intensive and intentional ministry to the Syrian refugees in Jordan, I knew my opportunities to serve in Athens would look different. I arrived with some baseline expectations, though. I would work with Helping Hands, a 20+ year old refugee ministry, my first day, and an American church, serving all summer throughout Greece, […]
In Isa’s Name — Mohammed’s Story
We were caught in No Man’s Land. Men, pregnant women, and children were all on their hands and knees, crawling across the Jordan and Syrian wilderness as rebel bullets whizzed over our heads. We just had to reach the Jordanian military vehicles. If only we could get there, we would be safe. There is something […]
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