I write these words on my thirty-ninth birthday. Like many unmarried thirty-somethings living in California, I have lived a life of great and varied pursuits, achieving all of my goals. I’m part of the “be all you can be” and “never give up on your dreams” generation. I earned a master’s degree in teaching English and then became a national-level bodybuilder, a lifeguard, a nightclub bouncer, a magazine cover model, an inner-city schoolteacher, a reality TV star, a missionary to Kenya, a published writer and photographer, and an Emmy-nominated film producer. Now all I think about is what’s next: the perfect marriage and beautiful children. I read somewhere that my generation is so addicted to success that for us it’s not enough to simply be president; we would also require a two-term presidency with a strong legislative legacy in order to feel truly accomplished. Now, to be certain, there are…

The other day, I met a Catholic school principal who told me her school is a “Vatican II school.” I asked her what makes it so and—no joke—she showed me some balloons and banners.  “No respect,” Rodney Dangerfield might have said as he worried his tie, “no respect.” These words come to mind as I think about the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Not only has the council been blamed for much of the apostasy in today’s Church, but it has been remarkably misunderstood. Now, this is true for many councils: they’re only appreciated in the long run and, in “Church time,” the Second Vatican Council would still be considered a recent event. Still, it may be time to reclaim the council and its intentions, and give it some respect, starting in the schools.  A level of uncertainty about the council is understandable. Highly intelligent…

In the late summer of 1998, Lauryn Hill released what is widely considered the greatest hip hop album of all time, and one of the greatest albums of any genre, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It is a unique blend of R&B, gospel, soul, reggae, and rap recorded mostly at Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio in Jamaica. Miseducation is an impeccably produced work of a huge band of musicians, and its lyrics are unparalleled testimonies to heartbreak and renewal, to freedom from the chains of the world, and reliance on the living God who reigns above. With the exception of three or four Bob Dylan records, there is no album ever made that weaves Scripture through the loom of modern life like this one does. There is simply no performer like Lauryn Hill and no record like her Miseducation. On February 16, 2021, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was…