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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Only 50% of Americans say a definite yes when asked about the existence of God. Since about 7% claim God does not exist that means there are a lot of people questioning the existence of a creator/supreme being deity. One friend asked me if the problem is in defining the meaning of God. He challenged me to define the word God and give three examples. I refrained from answering by the trinity. It was not what he was saying. I... Read more
Young clergy know certain days are going to be important in their work. Ascension Day (or Sunday) is not one of them. It goes without saying Christmas and Easter are important. Ash Wednesday and Pentecost may be important to some lay members. But All Saints’ Day and Ascension usually are not unless one serves a rather “high church” congregation. The older I get though I realize more these days are important to me. One reason All Saints’ Day is important... Read more
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