When was the last time you ate cotton candy (candy floss for my British friends)? Here’s the thing about cotton candy: at a fair or carnival, it looks irresistible. Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s groupthink. Either way, it works. You take a bite and sugar hits your veins like a freight train. For a few minutes, life feels pretty good. Then … Read more
As the United States of America basks in its 250th anniversary, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about origins. Origins matter because they often reveal what people believed was worth preserving. They expose priorities, assumptions, fears, and hopes about the kind of society people wanted to build and the kind of leaders needed to sustain it. Long … Read more
There is a strange moment that happens after you come back from a missions trip. If you’re like me, you unpack, catch up on emails, and try to fall back into your normal rhythm. And then, almost without realizing it, everything you experienced starts to feel distant. What felt urgent begins to fade. What felt clear gets crowded out. What felt important gets replaced … Read more
We’ve seen so much change and upheaval this year that it is dizzying. The world has felt upside down. Although has it ever felt right-side up? I often remind our staff and faculty that Manna University is not a church, but we are part of THE Church. Moreover, we serve the local church. It’s a core value. When Jaemi and I were first married, I … Read more
Not all theology survives contact with reality. What I mean is that theology can sound clear in a classroom or feel settled in familiar environments. Yet, once you step into a place that doesn’t share your assumptions, your pace, or your resources, what you believe gets tested quickly. For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of serving on Manna Missions trips to island nations in … Read more
On the northeast side of the Bay of Bengal sits one of Southeast Asia’s hidden jewels: Myanmar (Burma). Myanmar is home to more than 55 million people and 135 ethnic groups. If London is the “whole world in one place,” then Myanmar is one place with hundreds of worlds. Different faces. Different foods. Deep sociological and economic divides. … Read more
I do not like to be late. I tend to believe punctuality is next to godliness…unless it involves me showing up late to Jiu-Jitsu, in which case I fully support missing warmups. I plan ahead. I think in contingencies. I want to know every possible scenario before it happens. I’m wired for information, analysis, and research. I check accounts more … Read more
Summer has a way of loosening things. Schedules relax. Deadlines soften. Rhythms shift. For many college students, summer feels like an exhale. For those who do not take summer courses, it means papers are submitted, exams are done, and the pace slows. And that is good. As I’ve said in previous posts, rest is not … Read more
There is a stretch of road I travel often. We call it the Military Highway. It runs through places like Fort Leonard Wood, Killeen, Newport News, West Florida, Hawaii (I know it’s in the middle of the ocean), Sanford, the NC Capital Area, and Colorado Springs. Soon, it will run through Clarksville, TN. The time … Read more
Commencement is a strange word. In higher education, we use it to describe the end of something. But it actually means beginning. Every May at Manna U, we gather to celebrate degrees earned, assignments submitted, research defended, and perseverance proven. Families fill the room. Names are called. Applause rises. It feels like an arrival. But commencement is not an arrival at all It is a … Read more
