Kevan Duke

Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden when he was 30 years old– and as I reached that milestone this year I have found myself captivated by the words he penned some 160 years ago. Tonight, as I sit and watch the New Year festivities from my living room, I’ve noticed the stark difference between the world of Walden and the world we live in.

Flashing lights, over produced sounds, made up words, rambunctious crowds, ridiculous outfits – this is what we have come to memorialize as celebration. In reality, there is nothing being celebrated here beyond the list I’ve already mentioned. Perhaps this is the problem with me. And you. And us. Thoreau envisions a world down the road that gets so caught up in its ‘progress’ that it becomes out of sync with the rest of creation. At such a point, we would lose sight of what truly deserves to be celebrated -- and in the process the art of celebration would escape us. At some point, I have become so enamored by the so called ‘progress’ around me that I …

So, how do you know whether or not the stuff you are picking up in the Christian bookstore is actually worth your time and money? I’ll be honest out of the gate by confessing a few things:


·I find the whole thing where we label inanimate objects ‘Christian’ strange · I think a great deal of merchandise sold in these bookstores is actually harmful to its target market ·I tend to disassociate myself with the Christian subculture that has developed around this merchandise
I don’t think I’m better than the people that shop at Christian bookstores. Every once in a while I will venture in and find some things I’d like to read, though I prefer going to the library and checking out said book for free. But I have felt for a long time that the Christian bookstore can be one of the most dangerous places for a Christian to walk into, and I will explain my reasoning in just a moment.
It goes without saying that most of the items in the Christian bookstore look and sound the part – they are even laced…

Try to think about what your life would be like if you didn’t have a worry in the world. Imagine that you didn’t have to fear anything at all. You wouldn’t have to concern yourself with if what you eat will make you fat or if what you wear will make you accepted or if your grandma will die from her cancer or if the car you’re riding in might end your life today or if you’ll have the money to pay that bill.

What if you had eyes to see things for how beautiful they really are? You could hear the glory of God in every piece of music and every voice. You would wake up every morning feeling more refreshed than you’ve ever felt, with a smile on your face and joy in your heart. Every friendship you had would be based on genuine love, no hidden agendas or drama. No politics, no games to play. No tension, no competition, no anger, no suspicion, and no guilt. The image of God would be stamped on us and it would be impossible not to see it in each other. Everything would be how it seemed. Every c…

Humility is one of the most talked about ‘character words’ in our Christian subculture, and rightfully so. In Philippians 2, the apostle Paul describes the incredible humility Jesus displayed though His incarnation and death. We should, according to him, interact with each other in the same way.

But what exactly does it mean to be humble?

It seems to me that we often elevate a certain type of self-effacement in the name of avoiding vanity; we sometimes even call it humility. But it’s a false type of it – and one that does little to solve the root problems associated with a lack of humility, specifically pride. Humility is a deeply rooted heart condition – as is pride -- that originates in our beliefs about God, the universe, and our place in the big scope of things. It can be developed but not manufactured, cultivated but not rushed, grasped but not attained. In the end, the best way to grow in humility is to stop looking at ourselves and wondering how we could become more humble an…