matt tullos: writer
If there is one axiom I come back to more than any other—one I find myself saying out loud when things start to tilt—it’s this: Jesus is with me. Not it’s not over.Not if I die, I die. Those are good words. They’ve got grit in them. But this one goes deeper. This one holds. Click to […]
Four Lessons for the Depressed from 1 Kings 19 Early in my ministry, I was serving as a youth pastor in Amarillo, Texas when I walked straight into a deep chasm of spiritual warfare. It was born out of too many promises, too many personal expectations, and a growing pile of disappointments. In the midst […]
Coldplay’s haunting anthem Viva La Vida tells the story of a king who has lost everything—once commanding armies and ruling cities, now reduced to sweeping the very streets he used to own. It’s a portrait of reversal, of glory turned to ash, of a crown that couldn’t save him. When I hear that song, I think of […]
When I was 3, I had an X-15. Picture a small trike with more noise than brakes — and a whole lot of reckless joy. I loved racing down hills on that thing — the wind in my face, the rattling wheels, the rush of freedom. But I had one problem: I didn’t trust the […]
After heart of Redford’s passing, my mind wandered back to my sophomore year at Louisiana College, when I stepped into a darkened theater at the Alexandria Mall to watch “The Natural.” With just a couple of teenage months to spare I was captivated by what seemed like a simple story about baseball and second chances. […]
Grace slips through our fingers like water, not because it’s elusive, but because we keep clenching our fists. There’s something almost maddening about the concept of grace—how it defies every instinct we have about earning our place in this world. We live in a universe of transactions, of cause and effect, of merit and reward. […]
My son, Jacob, asked me for my Red Beans and Rice Recipe. I didn’t give him the recipe like it was given to me. Otherwise it would sound something like this: Lemme tell you how we do it way down da bayou, bébé.First t’ing, you take dem red kidney beans, put ‘em in a big […]
So far, for me, it’s been the character I can’t escape. Perhaps because there are shadows of the great divine in this part of the story.
You’ll know Him when you see Him. He carries the likeness of no mortal man. He will turn you upside down and shake you until your pockets no longer jingle. He will turn the heat up until meltdown occurs. He can swallow galaxies. He can stand on the hairs of your thumb. He will take your personal […]
If you’re not into metaphors, nothing to see here. If you love it like I do, come along! In the arid Judean wilderness, perched on the edge of the Dead Sea, lies Qumran, a site steeped in history and mystery. It’s here that the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, unlocking ancient truths and revealing a […]