Scott Henson
Too busy to bloviate this morning; but here’s is the stuff I would be talking about if I had the time:
Scott (Grits) Henson had a couple of terrific blog posts over the weekend:
Elysium at the airport: TSA groping now only for poor people suggests that limiting TSA screenings to less affluent travelers is “a tacit admission that such screenings were really pointless security theater.” The phrase “security theater” captures the sad reality beautifully.
And then there’s this: The free jail myth: County pols must stop pretending incarceration pays for itself. The “free jail myth” has been refuted so many times you’d think small town public officials would have caught on by now; but they never do. Promises of free jails are driving the proliferation of private prisons.
On Syria: Jon Huckins has a terrific post over at Red Letter Christians: Syria: The Stuff No One Wants To Talk About. Proponents and critics of a military response have one thing in common: they aren’t thinking about the ordinary people affected by this tragedy. Huckins captures the ethical complexity of this issue beautifully: ”On one hand, we can’t simply launch missiles into this region that kills innocent civilians (which they will) and then go eat a burrito and talk about our fantasy football teams. On the other hand, we can’t simply stand idle as tens of thousands of innocent civilians are being killed by a regime that devalues life.”
Finally, the excellent-and-always-improving Associated Baptist Press has two great articles:
In Working Poor a Ministry Focus, Baylor journalism student Daniel Wallace reminds us that poor folks aren’t all unemployed or homeless; most of them are working dead-end jobs that don’t pay enough to feed, clothe and house a family. Are churches set up to respond?
Emily Hull McGee
Then, in Does Your Church Need Millennials, pastor Emily Hull McGee shares this sobering advice: “before you buy better church coffee or even hire someone to create a ministry with young adults, know this: Your church must be ready and willing to be transformed and forever changed by the passions of 20- and 30-somethings if you intentionally invite them in.”
If you wonder what she means by that, Emily spells it out in startling detail. Her thoughts run parallel to the Common Peace Community Friends of Justice is putting together in DFW.