Standing Up For Workers

Last updated on: June 29, 2023 at 10:06 am By C. Don Jones

“I’m an old straight white guy standing up,” I shouted, “And you can too!” The baristas laughed. One said, “That’s true.” In case, you have not heard the Starbucks Union is on strike this week because the company stopped decorating for LGBTQ+ Pride. Not only that, the company forbade all voluntary Pride decorating in the unionized stores. No more flags or rainbow pins on the aprons. Nothing. No acknowledgment. Starbucks has jerked around their barista “partners” since the organizing efforts began. There... Read more

Another New Ministry

Last updated on: June 26, 2023 at 10:36 am By C. Don Jones

When I tell people where I serve in ministry, or go to a new setting, the next question is, “Where is that?” I then describe the geographic location to give the person some vague idea of the whereabouts of the people I serve. Once after telling someone of my time working in Winston-Salem, I was asked, “Is that where they burned the witches?” Or when people learn I serve in Andersonville I am asked, “Is that the Confederate prison?” I... Read more

Billionaires, Vanity, and Wishing People Evil

Last updated on: June 24, 2023 at 7:43 am By C. Don Jones

The missing Oceangate Submersible Titan opens the door for people who love to wish evil on other people. The fact that the people involved are taking part in a vanity project almost justifies it. Vanity is no excuse even though the hubris of billionaires is annoying to the rest of us. There is an urge within most of us to tell others, “I told you so.” Despite reports that the Titan was unsafe, the five people on board went anyway. I... Read more

Consuming Worship?

Last updated on: June 19, 2023 at 1:43 pm By C. Don Jones

Do lay people think of themselves as customers consuming worship? Pastors, like me, are appalled to hear lay people refer to a concert provided by a religious musician as worship. It does not help when church leaders in the American South say they want churches to be filled with people as “excited about Jesus as they are about college football.” Honestly? Are we really thinking this through? All anyone needs to do is check social media after the local team... Read more

The Sacred Heart of Appalachia

Last updated on: June 14, 2023 at 1:05 pm By C. Don Jones

My grandparents had a big throw blanket with a picture of Jesus on it. At first there was nothing sacred involved. Eventually, it moved from the couch to be tacked up on the wall like a tapestry. My grandfather appreciated the idea of Jesus watching over the family. The throw was a symbol for that. When he was laid out in his casket for visitation (what some call a wake), the backdrop of the throw made a different point. “He... Read more

For The Healing of The Earth

Last updated on: June 12, 2023 at 11:10 am By C. Don Jones

Earth is more than the planet on which we live. It is the word we use for soil. We may say it is ground. We also use it referring to humanity in relation to our environment. Being a system of systems within systems, we can say as Galileo is rumored to have done under his breath, “It moves.” While I do not subscribe to the Gaia hypothesis, I agree there is more going on than our best minds can imagine.... Read more

Awakened at The Inn

Last updated on: June 8, 2023 at 3:26 pm By C. Don Jones

I was awakened by the innkeeper’s servant. She was a young girl who had been sent to clean my wounds again. I remembered the bandits then. The girl jumped as I cried out and overturned the water bowl she was using. “How did I get here?” I asked her. The girl went to get the innkeeper. He ordered her to finish what she was doing while he spoke to me. I asked him how I got to the inn. “You... Read more

The Sun Still Shines

Last updated on: June 1, 2023 at 4:05 pm By C. Don Jones

I am happy to announce that my memoir The Sun Still Shines has been published. You can follow the link to order the book. It is also available in electronic format from Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Why I Wrote This Book and What I Hope It Will Do I wrote this book for the sake of clergy and church leaders who are fellow sufferers with me in addiction. There is hope to recover. But it will challenge everything you... Read more

Littleness of Souls

Last updated on: May 30, 2023 at 9:35 am By C. Don Jones

The danger of disaffiliation is not smaller churches, budgets, and a smaller denomination. The danger is a littleness of souls that is more difficult to overcome. Problems that would not exist except for the actions of another person leads a person from immediate injury to resentment. Nurtured resentments lead to littleness of the soul in those who do not overcome them. I would even argue that resentments do not require injury merely the perception of injury to exist. Feeding Souls... Read more

Christian Government: A Fallacy

Last updated on: May 25, 2023 at 9:29 am By C. Don Jones

Aristotle claimed the best form of government is a monarchy while the worst is tyranny. While many believe he was following his teacher Plato, I think they miss the point. The American Revolution proved one group of people’s monarch is another’s tyrant. Recently, someone asked me what I thought John Wesley would say about the splintering among United Methodists and the polarization in our society. “He would probably say,” I began, “it is what we deserve for rebelling against a... Read more