Jason Lief

For the next two and a half weeks I’m taking six students on a Franciscan pilgrimage. We’ll be immersed in all things St. Francis, spending multiple days in Assisi, followed by a long walk to Rome where Francis petitioned the…

Yesterday, the Washington Post had a story revealing the young man who opened fire at a synagogue in California is a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian church. This denomination and mine (the Christian Reformed Church) are part of the Calvinist tradition.…

Prior to 1965, there were no limits on immigration from Western countries. There were plenty of quotas placed on other groups, primarily for racist reasons, but not for neighbors to the South or North. In 1965 that changed. The 1986…

Those who believe that Christianity is being co-opted by a leftist ideology tend to throw around the term “social gospel”. To bring the gospel into conversation with social problems like racism or poverty, in their mind, is a distortion of…

More than once over the last few weeks I’ve been asked if I “believe the bible”. What they mean, I think, is whether I believe the bible is the true word of God. Of course my answer is yes, but…

My spiritual formation students are reading The Thirst of God: Contemplating God's love with Three Women Mystics by Wendy Farley. The book explores the life and faith of Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Julian of Norwich. Our conversation as…

Yesterday, during a NW Iowa blizzard, a friend and I went out for a beer. Sitting in the warm glow of sports television we talked about "stuff". Not just any stuff, but heavy stuff we usually discuss over cigarettes and…

With unadulterated joy, I watched as a pass by Drew Brees fell into the arms of a defender. This was matched by the elation of watching a 57 yard field goal sail through the uprights in overtime, sending the New…

I spent this afternoon on a train with a gazillion other people in the heart of Bangkok. My big body and beard made me seem like Sasquatch standing in the midst of the Thai people. Last week, while traveling in…