The Church is known for what we hate. We often try to cover ourselves with a version of “but they don’t understand us.” It never works. We want to play the victim. And yet, like all families it only takes one member to define how others see us. What We Love I have served many churches that can be considered “family chapels.” Listening to the members of such congregations, one gets the impression that they can be friendly and loving even... Read more
I caught myself reflecting this time last year I got COVID. Mine was a mild case. But it was bad enough. Kathryn and a few of our friends and relatives got really bad cases of it. Thankfully, no one died. I should add the words so far. The same thing can be said about my congregation. So far, no one has died with the COVID-19 virus. I thought the new vaccines would help us overcome this disease. But now I find... Read more
The zealot is the enemy of the faithful. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the difference between the two. Time is the gift that helps one distinguish the two. Or as Jesus would say, “You will know them by their fruit.” (Matthew 7:16a) As I I say, this takes time. Thankfully, you can tell the tree by the flower. But only if you have experience. Let’s look at the fruit of the zealot. The Zealot And Doctrine Samuel Johnson said,... Read more
Living off the land is not romantic. It is a necessity for many where I live. A lot of families know how to find food when the money is low. My mother’s family was no different. They knew how to hunt and gather. My grandfather only had a 3rd grade education. He raised a large family and read his King James Bible every Sunday. Given his education level, I can imagine how little he understood. But he did his best.... Read more
The problem with bigotry and belief is that the two look alike. Many people easily mistake one for the other. A believer may be a bigot. But a bigot is always a believer. It is a situation that requires precise surgery to understand the difference. We will try to do that here. The Excuses of Bigotry Bigotry is a refusal to listen, learn, or grow. “I was raised this way,” is the normal excuse. It is a cop out. I... Read more
Mt Bethel UMC is the latest focal point of the less than amicable divorce in The United Methodist Church. The North Georgia Conference recently moved to seize the assets of the congregation. The reason given is that the UM Church has violated the Discipline of the United Methodist Church by refusing to pay annual apportionments and rejecting a pastoral change. The congregation has a history of getting it wrong. Pastor Randell Mickler balked at the idea of Rabbi Steven Lebow... Read more
Arrogance plagues our ethical lives. High School Physics is where I first learned anything about Aristotle. The discussion centered on Galileo and his discoveries about the Laws of Motion. Aristotle believed heavier objects fell to the ground faster than lighter objects of the same materials. Galileo proved it wrong. The acceleration due to gravity (on Earth at least) is constant. I don’t have to look the number up. It is 9.8 meters per second per second. But there was a... Read more
Spirituality is either a practice or a desire. People can claim to be “spiritual rather than religious.” That’s alright as far as that goes. The people who desire spirituality tend to look for spiritual experiences or sudden awakenings. People who practice spirituality find it does not differ much from religion. There is a reason for this. The following 4 Spiritual Foundations are important considerations for people who desire spirituality. If it is anything, spirituality is another form of learning. The... Read more
“Kill them all! Let God sort them out!” And other forms of violent indiscriminate bluster are the language of self-righteousness. The Crusaders asked, “what about the Christians in the city?” The response was “kill them all!” The Lord knows his own. January 6th is the latest fruit of violent self-righteousness. The attempts to justify the actions of those who took part continue the pattern. There is no repentance. I have yet to hear apologies from anyone. It is common to... Read more
Progress is the American mythical value. Our most cherished belief is that we are improving. It is what we want to hear. Like a patient whose condition is dire, we want to hear the doctor say we are getting better. It is an important part of who we suppose ourselves to be. We will lie to the dying person. Progress, we say, is even a Christin virtue. Many people who read my blog will proudly claim the title “Progressive Christian.”... Read more
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