Sterling Griggs

The other night I took my son to watch my alma mater, Wake Forest University, take on a local college team in an exhibition fundraiser soccer game. If you know anything about me at all, then you know that can be pretty passionate about Wake Forest sports, no matter what sport it is or how good or bad of a season they may be having. And yes, I even celebrate when the field hockey team gets a big win. As I got settled in to watch the game with a few friends of mine, my son and his buddies went off to kick the soccer ball around with a whole bunch of other kids whose parents dragged them along to watch a game they could care less to see. Us "big kids" were discussing all sorts of issues, including the cost of tuition at Wake Forest University. I asked one of my friends who graduated a few years after I did how much tuition was now and, before he could answer, the two ladies sitting on the bleachers a few rows in front of us turned around and, in unison exclaimed, "Too mu...

The other week, right before Easter, a long-time friend shared an article with me about the death of Jesus. The author of the article asked the question, "Why did Jesus die?", and the reason he gave wasn't quite the one I was expecting. He said that Jesus died primarily to show us what love looks like. Now I don't disagree that dying for someone is a supreme act of love, but in the case of Jesus it was more than just one shining moment that put Him on that cross. When Jesus went to the cross, He went as a sacrifice for our sins. In other words, if Jesus didn't die on the cross and then rise from the grave, we don't have forgiveness of sins. Did love compel Him to die? Yes! But His blood actually purchased something for you and me. The cross stands as more than just an example of affection. As I mulled these things over in my mind, I began to wonder about what the word sacrifice really means. Sometimes we say that we are going to make sacrifices in our li...

What do you get when you put grace and truth in a blender? A big, beautiful mess! A whole lot of Christians operate as if grace and truth are interchangeable concepts, kind of like jeans in the winter and shorts in the summer. You can wear shorts in the snow but you would freeze, just as you would sweat to death wearing jeans in July. There were moments where grace rules the day while at other times truth is all that matters. Mix them together? Like oil and water, that simply can't be sustained, at least not for long. As a result of this view, many strive to keep grace and truth separate but equal in their way of thinking. When they need to stake their claim in truth, that is no problem. If you don't agree with what they believe to be true then there is really no room for discussion - you would simply have to live with being wrong and would get little to no sympathy from them. Yet there are also those moments where grace is needed to flood a dry and parched land. In those ...

In 1986 The Beasie Boys released their blockbuster album License to Ill and immediately the track (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (to Party)! became an unofficial anthem for the '80s generation. As a produce of that decade, these words summed up how I felt about life in general. I was all wrapped up in the things that I not only wanted to do, but that I was convinced that I had a RIGHT to do. Fast forward to today and that attitude still prevails, and we don't even need a theme song to go along with it. Everywhere you turn people are getting bent out of shape because someone somewhere is either denying them what they believe to be their rights or prohibiting them from expressing them at all. In the 1960's when the Civil Rights movement was at it's height, the fight for the rights of minorities was noble and good. Not that racism and prejudice against others went away back then - sadly, those ills will always be with us - but the mechanism for addressing them wa...

Sometimes you just gotta write it all down while it's fresh in your head, kind of like a mind vomit that hits the computer keys. Here it is. My apologies to those who involuntarily retch at the mention or thought of vomit. Passion 2015 I have had the absolute joy of attending the Passion conferences now for several years. What started out as a chaperoned trip of college kids to Atlanta, GA, in 2007 has now turned into a much anticipated yearly event that I hate to miss. Yes, it's geared toward 18-25 year olds, but someone has to take them so why not me, right? Do you want to know why I believe Passion to be one of the greatest things going out there for this generation? First, it's not really a conference or even a get together - it's a movement. This is why it makes it so hard to describe to people what you experienced once you return home from a Passion event. Nowhere have I seen so many young adults who intentionally gather for the purpose of exalting Jesus a...

As 2015 rapidly approaches, there are many who are furiously planning how they want their lives to be improved in the coming year. There will be commitments for exercise and weight loss; striving for more discipline at work or in the classroom; setting goals for productivity; or just wanting less stress and more free time. Whatever your aim for 2015 is, I am on your side! I just wish that January 1 came with a magic tonic to help all of us achieve these lofty goals that we set for ourselves. But alas, there is nothing mystical or special about the first day of the year when it comes to the changes you believe that you need to make in your life, other it being a marker for you to begin with. Truth be told, I stopped making New Years' resolutions a long time ago for a couple of reasons. First, I was terrible at keeping them, but second and more important, if I knew that I needed to make life changes in the first place, then it would be pretty pitiful for me to wait until the fir...

As a kid, I never had my mouth washed out with soap due to foul language. Now this isn't because I never said a bad word, but rather because my parents probably never heard me. In truth, the real reason I was cautious to never utter a profane word in front of my parents is because of some wisely crafted medicine that my mom administered to me early on. During a stirring conversation about the consequences of bad language, she introduced me to the flavor of baking soda delivered in a tea spoon that would be punishment for verbal indiscretions. After tasting that awful powder, I vowed never to allow that stuff to pass my lips again. There are many words that are taboo in our culture and just simply should not be spoken. Or if we do say them, they are delivered in hushed tones so that no one else can hear. Some words are so foul to the ears that, when uttered, cause us to recoil in disgust and leave the conversation if not the room altogether. We reference these abominable sayings ...