I’ve noticed something disturbing in myself since November 9, 2016.

It’s language. Words that drift through my mind. They seem to settle somewhere around my chest until it puffs out so much it pushes my chin and nose to a slight upward tilt.

These words…

“Buffoon.”

“Clown.”

“Con man.”

“Crook.”

“Disgrace.”

“Fool.”

“Idiot.”

“Incompetent.”

“Scumbag.”

“Sleaze.”

“Idiot.”

I can go on and it can get worse.

I am, of course, thinking these words to myself as I read the New York Times coverage of president-elect Donald Trump.

At some point this week, I actually listened to myself think. What I heard going through my mind was every bit as sinful and wrong as the behavior I was criticizing in someone else. I became what I judged. And I wasn’t judging for any good reason; only because it feels good to judge myself better than someone else.

I’ve criticized Donald Trump for his...

A few weeks ago, I heard an interview with Dr. John Townsend in which he said a line that is stuck on autoplay repeat in my mind.

He said: “Replace ‘I deserve’ with ‘I’m responsible.’”

Here in the United States, we need to make this our mantra as we’re likely to breathe the fumes of the presidential election for a long time.

You see, the American political industry runs on votes that it mines from the “I deserve” statements of the electorate. In an era when everybody is shouting “I deserve!” it is no wonder our political landscape is so fissured and polluted.

What kind of person shouts: “I deserve!”

A frightened person. A person who looks out on a world of scarcity and threats. A person who believes that he will lose if someone else wins.

What kind of person says, gently: “I’m responsible.”

A person of faith and hope. A person who believes in abundance and plenty. A person who...

America is an easy stand-in for the power and glory we wish for ourselves. We like being big, rich, and super powerful to the exclusion of all other nations on earth. We don’t often take “American exceptionalism” as the putdown it is meant to be; we wear it like a badge of honor. Being American makes us feel like we ourselves are exceptional, powerful, second to none.

Or at least that we deserve to be so if we aren’t already. Because, you know, we’re American.

When we don’t feel like we’re in our rightful place at the top, we go looking for two things: Someone to blame and someone to put us back on our pedestal. Nowhere is this more plain than a political campaign. Blame and promises of future power and glory win a lot of votes.

Make America great again so I can feel great again. Power and glory.

Every morning on the way to school, I say the Lord’s prayer with my four-year son...

The United States of America is not one nation; it is two.

My own Detroit metropolitan region–the Detropolis (thank you Jeff Slater)–is not one city; it is two.

My own Christian family here in America is not one Christianity; it is two.

What’s the difference?

In broad and naked terms:

Dark skin and light skin. “Have-some-or-none” and “have-more-or-a-lot-more”. Urban and rural. Social liberals and social conservatives.

There are more. You get the picture.

Here’s how I see things in the aftermath of the presidential election. Politicians get votes by stirring the anger and fear of one against the other. They frame the problem or the threat as “The Other.” They offer solutions that, at their most basic, lift up one group while keeping The Other down, out, or in her or his place.

As a struggling-to-be-an apprentice and student of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, I...

It’s morning in America. November 9, 2016, to be exact.

I just saw the news (and I don’t need to tell you what news I’m talking about).

My four-year old son, Daniel, has the croup. I went to bed early expecting to be up a few times during the night. I’m thankful that he only woke us three times and was finally sleeping soundly when I got up at 7 a.m.

It is no secret that I was vocal in my support for Hillary Clinton. I tried to be far less vocal about my opposition to Donald Trump and what he represents. This campaign, like all campaigns, needed more civility, dialogue, and thoughtful reflection. I wanted to build a case for Clinton without tearing down Trump. After all, tearing down the candidate is the same as tearing down the people who support the candidate. Those people are my family and friends and neighbors. I cannot and will not tear them down.

I admit: The news that...

It’s Election Day in the United States and I’d like to say I rose at 3:30 a.m. to pray for my country.

Not so. I awoke at 3:30 a.m. to a coughing four-year old with a runny nose. After 90 minutes in and out of his room (I think he’s finally asleep), I’m taking some time to pray, reflect, and write as this day of crazy begins.

I’ve put more prayer, reflection, thought, and words to this election than any since I first voted for president in 1996 (Bob Dole if you want to know). I was an activist Republican until college, when I decided that expressing my political opinions would do more harm than good. Before this election, I can think of only one instance since the late 1990s when I came out in a very public way for a candidate. That was in 2008, when my church asked me to write a 250-word pro-Obama piece for the church bulletin. Another member of the church was to write a pro-McCain...

Our Father in heaven.
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever and ever.
Amen.

You could say that I’m an above-average social studies student. I finished my college civics courses while I was still in high school. As a high school senior, I made it to the state finals of the American Legion Citizenship Bee. You’ll still find a “Social Studies Student of the Year” plaque with my name on it in the trophy case at Ashland High School in Ashland, Ohio.

I’ve followed civics, current events, history, legal issues, and politics even closer in adulthood than I did in high school. I not only vote in every election, I spend months or even years carefully studying candidates and issues so I’m confident that I’m making the best decision when I fill out my ballot. Over the course of 20 years, I’ve voted for both Democrats and Republicans in local, state, and national elections.

Participating in civics for all these years built up a good amount of perspective and changed the...

Avoiding politics amounts to mission failure for the church of Christ in the United States.

We (organized Christians) don’t really avoid politics. One segment of the Christian church aligns itself with one political faction. One segment aligns itself with another. One segment avoids politics altogether. All of them are passive aggressive about it because they: a) Don’t want to run afoul of the Internal Revenue Service, and b) Don’t want to run afoul of the people who put money in the collection plates each Sunday.

I’m tired of this passive aggression and not because I wish the church would pick a side. In fact, nothing could be more out of line with the church’s very reason for existence than to take a side in politics.

And what is that reason for existence that defines and drives the church of Christ? It is the very thing our country needs from us now. It is the very thing I’m...

When I get up at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 9, I’ll do my morning journaling and writing. I’ll make breakfast for Daniel (Waffle Wednesday!) and get us both ready for the day. We’ll make the 30-minute commute to Daniel’s preschool. After I hug and kiss my boy goodbye, I’ll pick up a coffee and head to the office. There, I’ll fill a page with a list of things for which I’m thankful that day. I’ll jot down a few prayer petitions for people in my life. I’ll hand write five thank-you notes to people who have done something generous or kind for me.

Then I’ll get to work. On November 9, I’ll be putting the finishing touches on the Lake Norcentra Park project for Rochester College in 2016. We’re getting ready to start painting an 1800-square foot mural with volunteers from the community. Christine Gibson, a children’s book illustrator, designed the mural that won a public contest that...