Category: Biography, Drama, History
By: Henry Gwani on September 10, 2021
Washington: The Making of the American Capital may be described as a narrative nonfiction about the political struggle of choosing and developing Washington DC as the capital of America. Unlike the bustling world-class city that it is today, Bordewich reveals how the US capital used to be an undesirable collection of farms and swamps that…
By: Kayli Hillebrand on September 1, 2021
Reading and writing have been emphasized in my life since a young age. I feel fortunate that both of my parents excel in these areas and were intentional with my development in them. My parents would reward me for reading a series of books with the corresponding doll and I remember playing typing games on…
By: Dylan Branson on April 12, 2021
https://prezi.com/p/w17ikpimplq-/?present=1
By: Dylan Branson on February 23, 2021
At Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s funeral service, Franz Hildebrandt recalled a conversation he had with Bonhoeffer: “Why should it always have to be the bad people who make the revolutions?”[1] The word “revolution” carries with it many connotations. For Americans, we may think of the American Revolution and the spirit of nationalism it evokes as cries of…
By: Dylan Branson on February 17, 2021
On April 8, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was taken by two men to be led to his execution. He had been asked to perform a final service on Quasimodo Sunday – the Sunday following Easter. One of his fellow prisoners, Payne Best, describes the scene: “He had hardly finished his last prayer when the door opened…
By: Dylan Branson on February 8, 2021
In March 1933, Dietrich Bonhoeffer penned an essay he entitled: “The Church and the Jewish Question.” This was sparked by what was called the “Aryan Paragraph” – an order that only those of Aryan descent would be allowed to participate in civil service. Metaxas writes that Christians in Germany a unified Christianity that was “strong…
By: Dylan Branson on February 2, 2021
In 1933, Bonhoeffer was invited by Bishop Theodore Heckel to pastor the two German congregations in London. Metaxas writes that there were two reason Bonhoeffer wanted to go: To engage in the grounding experience of honest “parish work” and to push away from the church struggle in Germany to gain perspective on the bigger picture.[1] In…
By: Dylan Branson on January 25, 2021
In each of our journeys, there is a question that drives and guides the paths we take. While that may seem confining to some, the reality is that the question evolves and morphs as the journey continues. The question that drives us is not static, but it is dynamic. New information, new experiences, new insights,…
By: Dylan Branson on January 18, 2021
In May 2018, my roommate and I decided that for our weekly “Mansion Night”[1] we would break from our normal sharing and prayer and go to Shake Shack, which had just opened in Hong Kong. To say I was relieved would be an understatement. I was sick and tired of talking about Jesus and having…
By: Dylan Branson on November 16, 2020
The Towers stretch high into the sky as I pass through the city gates. Guardsmen who I recognize bow to me not out of recognition, but out of courtesy for a visitor to the City of Towers. I walk the streets that I once knew, everything exactly as I had left it and yet completely…
By: Dylan Branson on November 9, 2020
The boat gently bumps into the shore, waking me from my slumber. I sit up, the fog not as thick as it once was. A smile creeps on my face as I disembark onto the shore, seeing a rough path ahead of me. It isn’t easy going, but I find that it doesn’t bother me.…
By: Dylan Branson on November 2, 2020
Regret hits me as soon as I let go of the rope. The current of the river is too much as it drags me and pulls me every which way. I desperately scrounge around the bottom of the boat, looking for an oar or a paddle or something I can use to correct my poor…
By: Dylan Branson on October 26, 2020
I stand on the bank of the raging river outside of Knowing’s Edge, watching the stream rush by before me. The gurgling of the water flowing before is both enticing and terrifying. I’m not entirely sure how long I’ve been at the inn – it feels like a long time, and yet not long at…
By: Dylan Branson on September 21, 2020
I’ve failed. My conversation with the Seeker replays over and over again in my mind. Their parting words cut to my core: “Until others can grasp what you say, knowledge is useless. Knowledge may be powerful, but if it is not properly wielded it is simply useless strokes on a page.” Fury rises in my…
By: Dylan Branson on September 1, 2020
Identity and narrative are two of the most powerful driving forces in our lives. The questions “Who am I?”, “Where have I been?”, “Where am I now?” and “Where am I going?” influence not just the way that we see ourselves, but the way that we see the world. But what happens when our narratives…
By: Joe Castillo on April 13, 2020
To develop strong and effective leadership in these challenging times, it is essential to recover the issue of the negative image that the world has of Christians. Possibly 90 percent of the world’s population believes that there is a Supreme Being who created all things and rules the universe. Even atheists or primitive people in…
By: Mario Hood on February 14, 2020
The famous or infamous University of Toronto professor and clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson, PhD, is an unlikely celebrity in our current culture. Known for his straight forward demeanor and political incorrectness. He is also the author of 12 Rules for Life and this weeks reading Maps of Meaning. In Maps of Meaning, Peterson sketches…
By: Mario Hood on February 6, 2020
The general agreement suggests that we live in a postmodern context.[1] Stephen R. C. Hicks is a Canadian American philosopher. He teaches at Rockford University, where he also directs the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. In his book, Explaining Postmodernism, he seeks to trace the origins of our current intellectual way of thinking. As Marcus…
By: Mario Hood on January 30, 2020
I heard a speaker/preacher once say at church, “if you go back far enough, everyone has a past.” The purpose of saying that was to make everyone realize you are not where you use to be but never think of yourself to highly because, without God, none of us would be where we are at…
By: Joe Castillo on January 14, 2020
I want to reflect on chapter 5 from the book “Evangelicalism in Modern Britain” because it resonates with my own Methodist experience. I want to focus primarily on “The Methodist Holiness Tradition.” as I perceive it. There are two points that I come to mind as I read the chapter; WE ARE MADE HOLY IN…