Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of a teacher in Kenya who lived his life giving away much of what he earned and was recently blessed with a big prize. Peter Tabichi is a high school science teacher in a small town in Kenya and over his career has given away most of his earnings to the poor. In his town, almost a third of children are orphans or have only one parent and drought and famine are common. This month, he was awarded the annual Global Teacher Prize

The news of actor Jussie Smollett’s charges being suddenly dropped broke yesterday and caused quite a stir in the media. While we do not know with certainty what happened with him, we can still be certain of a couple of things. First, and most importantly, we can be certain that God loves us, is taking care of us, and is making a path for us forward. Secondly, we can be certain that each of us will face Him one day to account for what we have done in our lives. When we see th

We all see acts of violence and hate each day in the news; but, sadly, we also hear words of discrimination and anger spoken (or shouted) in the news as well. It is easy to wonder, “How can someone be this cruel to their fellow man?” The short answer is that most of these people do not know they are being cruel. Indeed, there are people who do not even know they are being cruel when they act with such anger, hate, or vehemence because they have been so blinded by the cruelty

Each day we have an opportunity to live in a way that allows Christ to shine through us or make decisions that will cause Christ’s influence in our life to diminish. Sin is the powerful force that can lead us astray in our decision making and cause negative consequences to our lives and those around us. However, sin only has as much authority in our lives as we give it. In Romans, Paul wrote, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace

In breaking news over the weekend, Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation and turned in his report to the Attorney General. Over the coming days, we are sure to receive plenty of coverage and analysis of it, but for now, a major piece of the political discourse in this country for the last two years is now over. When big things in our lives end, it’s always a good time for reflection. The ending of the Mueller investigation seems to be a unique opportunity

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of a man who, when suddenly faced with a choice to either continue on his own way or give up his time and energy to help others, chose the latter. Ron and Sharleen Gilles were driving from Edinburgh to Cambridge in the UK to see Ron’s dying mother one last time. During the trip, they got into a minor car accident and were stranded on the side of the road. Despite calls to their insurance company, no one was going to be able to

People today have all sorts of thoughts about themselves and the world around them. When was the last time we audited the things we think about on a daily basis to see how they compare to what Jesus tells us is the truth? All Christians would say they believe in the Word of God. But in a world that seems to spin faster and faster each year, when we do not consistently audit the things we are actually telling ourselves on a daily basis, in reality, we can start to drift away f

Opinions are a dime a dozen (these days more like a penny a dozen). If our opinions accomplished anything of value in society, then they may be viewed with more credibility; however, opinions fall short of beliefs when it comes to societal movement. Beliefs form the core tenets of our understanding of the world and shape the way we interact with it – they are formed deeper and more thoughtfully than passing opinions. After all, Jesus did not call us to hold God in popular opi

The heat of another presidential election more than a year away is already ramping up in our news. Already there are bitter squabbles that either frame the other side as evil or contemptuous or end in some sort of “my-way-or-the-highway” ultimatum. It is for this reason that Elevated Discourse was founded – to elevate the political discourse of today above party lines and towards Jesus. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Donna Brazile wrote an op-ed yesterday about

Political fights both online and in person are all together too common these days. It seems that gone are the days when we could disagree vehemently but still be good friends. As a result, most of us have wondered at some time, “Is this all life has for me? Is there a better way?” The answer is a resounding “yes,” there is a better way of living and Jesus shows it to us when we know him personally. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Fa