toddcast

This past Tuesday math nerds around the world celebrated Pi day. Pi is the Greek letter used in math to represent the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. The value of Pi to the hundredths place is 3.14, therefore March 14, otherwise known as 3/14, is celebrated as Pi day. The real interesting thing about Pi is that it's value does not stop at the hundredths place.   In fact, the decimal goes on unending.  In other words, you can get close to writing Pi but you'll never be able to get it exactly.  Pi is a real number but is considered irrational. In my high school math classes our teacher challenged us to memorize Pi to as many decimal places as we could.  I can still do it - 3.14159265. I was pretty proud but was reminded that even though I knew Pi six more decimal places than those who knew him only as 3.14 I still was infinitely away from knowing him completely. For a long time I've felt some spiritual connection with Pi.  A real num...

My name is Todd, and I don’t like The Shack ! And somehow, I am being made to feel like less than a true believer by voicing my concerns.  That’s my problem and no one else’s, but that’s how I feel. I didn’t have the same heart-rending reaction that many Christians had after reading the book.  I wondered why.  Is there something wrong with me?  Am I cold-hearted and insensitive to human pain?  Do I not want God to be forgiving and merciful? Am I not forgiving and merciful? Why don’t I love The Shack ? But then I found relief when I read of others who likewise felt uneasy about the portrayal of God in The Shack . I feel that the concern has been misinterpreted or perhaps it has been miscommunicated, so please indulge these confessions of a Shack dissident. I’m thinking The Shack may be like a song or a painting.  Some people love songs that I don’t, and I love some songs that others don’t.  Some paintings speak to some but fall mute to ...

Whoever you voted for this past November, you must admit there’s been hardly a dull moment with the new administration.  Recently there have been allegations of wiretapping - a serious intrusion of one’s privacy. Who wants words that are intended to stay private made public for all to hear? A few years back I had phone conversation with someone and later found out that person had recorded our conversation without my permission.  I felt violated.  I was angry.  Although I was confident I didn’t say anything that could be used against me, the whole idea of the possibility of others hearing a conversation that was intended to be private was maddening. We usually assume and prefer that our words are to be kept private. I’m teaching a men’s class on Wednesday evenings at our church and we’re going through a study by Tony Evans called “Watch Your Mouth.”  Last week he referenced Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 12:36–37 : “But I tell you that men will h...