Jason Albertson

1 Cor. 3 uses the word the KJV translates as "carnal." A lot of us in the American Holiness tradition tend to associate "carnality" with "whatever that thing is that needs to be fixed by entire sanctification," so it might come naturally to us to think of entire sanctification when we run into "carnal" or "carnality" in the wild. Problem : entire sanctification isn't always part of what's going on when "carnal" pops up. Example : 1 Cor. 3:1-4 This passage was part of the Sunday school lesson this last week in a curriculum I ran across. The comments in the lesson talked about how the Corinthians needed to be entirely sanctified to get this carnality dealt with. You know what's interesting? Paul doesn't mention entire sanctification as the solution to their carnality. Not a word. Maybe you're like me. Maybe when you hear the word "carnality," it's hard not to just hear it as "t...

Mockingbird  is a young adult novel by Kathryn Erskine published in 2010. My wife has been doing ongoing research and review of young adult literature to help develop her middle school classroom library, and she checked out Mockingbird as part of a batch from the public library. It's a story about a 5th-grade girl, Caitlin. She's on the autistic spectrum. Her older brother, a teacher and another student have just been killed in a school shooting. Her circumstances aren't ideal. Her single dad is out of commission, his own burdens heavy, leaving her to figure out grief on her own. Caitlin's school counselor helps, teaching her about the power of empathy and friendship by helping her befriend a younger student who's sad. His mom has died recently--she was the teacher killed in the school shooting. She determines to find closure for herself, her dad and her new little friend. And she does. Her brother had started an eagle scout project. Her dad covered it ...