late-night coincidences: don’t ever think that you’ve been forgotten

it’s saturday night and the kids have been down for at least an hour already, maybe more. the house is especially quiet. jen is tidying up downstairs somewhere, while i pour the basket of laundry onto our bed and make myself useful. the monotony of towels folded end-over-end and socks turned in on themselves, after […]

walking with c. s. lewis: remembering professor tony ash

for those of us from the cool, damp pacific northwest, there’s not much reason to get excited about traveling to west texas. but i arrived deeply excited. after flying into san antonio late march, i drove the four hours north to meet professor tony ash. a publisher introduced me to tony several years ago, shortly […]

life over lies: worth in work

the following is a reflection i shared with our university ministry community in berkeley, for a series titled, “life > lies.” since the new year began, we’ve been asking, ‘what are the lies that i believe about myself?,’ and, ‘how can we stop living into those lies so that we can receive the abundant life […]

valentine’s Day, ash wednesday, & lent: cleansing our broken hearts

the following is a homily on psalm 51 that i offered at first presbyterian church of berkeley, on the event of ash wednesday. it’s the first time since 1945 that valentine’s day has fallen on ash wednesday. these two holidays seem like an odd couple, don’t they? chocolates and ashes? but maybe not. both days […]

when we say goodbye | why i need the rosary

i’ve been thinking about and working on a book idea since finishing called: my journey to c. s. lewis’s house and back again. death and grief and the long process of saying goodbye is, unfortunately, part of our story. we have said goodbye to some of those closest to us and found ourselves struggling to […]

birth narratives

the gospels were not the earliest accounts of what God was doing in and through the life of Jesus, of course—paul’s letters to the early church had already been penned and shared by then. but it was eventually decided that a written account of Jesus’s life and, more than that, His ministry, should be captured. […]

good christian? bad christian?

who is shaping our image of a “good” christian, i wondered when two university students told me they feel like a “bad” christian from our seats in berkeley last spring. who’s telling us what it looks like to be a “bad” christian? are either valid? i’m exploring this question with our community in berkeley this […]

when we say goodbye | life goes on

i’ve been thinking and talking about and working on a book idea for the past few years, since finishing called: my journey to c. s. lewis’s house and back again. death and grief and the long process of saying goodbye is, unfortunately, part of our story. and in the wake of so many painful conversations, i’ve […]

54 years later: c. s. lewis today

fifty-four years ago today, people around the world were reeling from the news of an all-too young u.s. president’s assassination. so overwhelming was this tragedy that it overshadowed the news of a beloved english author’s death in his home on the same day. on a recent friday evening, two friends and i gathered together at […]

good christian? bad christian? why read scripture?

“ryan, i feel like a bad christian when…” two university students used that phrase with me within the same week last spring. both confessing christians in berkeley, each confessed to me that their actions make them feel less than christian, somehow. i was so struck by this language: ‘bad’ christian. who is shaping our image of […]