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What Makes a Church Toxic?

October 2021

When I discuss my recent memoir, Where the Light Fell, often I use the phrase toxic church to describe the extreme form of Southern fundamentalism I grew up under. I joke that I’ve been “in recovery,” a process of detoxing, ever since. “Tell me,” asked one podcast interviewer, “What makes a church toxic?” Three characteristics immediately came to mind. FEAR. Memories of church from my youth summon up feelings of fear and shame. It was hard to hear the gospel ...

Kids in Church

September 2021

My new memoir, Where the Light Fell, includes a few scenes from the childhood church I attended, near Atlanta. How does this compare to scenes from your childhood experience? My most memorable Sunday evening service takes place when Dr. M. R. DeHaan, a radio star from Michigan, speaks at a weekend conference. It’s like the World Series of church. Our family arrives early for a parking place, and still we have to walk a long way. So many newcomers show ...

Through a Writer’s Eyes

August 2021

As someone who has been writing articles and books for half a century, I read the Bible differently than most people. I can’t help peeking behind the words to the human authors. I read Isaiah and marvel at his soaring prose and shining images of restored creation. I read Jeremiah and identify with the reluctant prophet’s neuroses. I read Amos and James and smile at their homespun, earthy analogies. While we do not know exactly how divine inspiration worked, it’s ...

Ocean Summer

July 2021

I’ve been dredging my life for recollections to include in a memoir, which will come out in October with the title Where the Light Fell. Here’s a memory from one of the annual trips my family in Atlanta made to visit relatives in Philadelphia. I was ten years old at the time. One summer, to give us relief from Philadelphia’s heat, Mother drives us to Ocean City, New Jersey—“America’s favorite family resort,” the billboards proclaim. She feels safe there because ...

In the Air Again

June 2021

After staying home virtually all of 2020, in the Spring of this year I started traveling again. In May I ventured an international trip, accepting an invitation to speak at a Europe Teen Challenge conference in Portugal. At the airline gate, twenty minutes before departure, I learned that my COVID-19 antigen test, required for travel, was valid for my connection through Germany but not for entering Portugal. United Airlines pulled my suitcase off the plane, issued me a hotel voucher ...

What Makes a Church Toxic?

Kids in Church

Through a Writer’s Eyes

Ocean Summer

In the Air Again

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