“I hadn’t been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called ‘bee yard etiquette’. She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don’t be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don’t be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don’t swat. Don’t even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while... Read more

“Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability–and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you. Your... Read more

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/219342/february-23-2009/turning-to-religion—jim-martin I swear someday soon I will learn to imbed a video.  Stephen Colbert continues his word-creating roll– I love “faithflation” and I think I will adopt it as a new official term when I talk about what we can do and be as the church in these difficult times. Read more

Picture me rushing to the mail box September 1 right before final pick-up. (This crazy, deadline-flirting style would be nothing unusual for me, as many of you know.) But when I wrote and submitted my application to The Louisville Institute Sabbatical Grants for Pastors program I knew that even if I got it there in time, my winning a grant was a long shot by far. Over 400 pastors applied this year, and believe me, the work it took to... Read more

. . . making chocolate cupcakes with Hannah!  Happy Valentine’s Day. Read more

I used to think that pastors sat around thinking about following Jesus all the time. (Pause here for uproarious laughter.) However, I happened to notice the other day that I’ve been thinking a lot more than usual lately about following Jesus. I know if I mentioned it to her, my spiritual director would tell me that, if it’s on my mind, something there is worth noticing. So here’s what I’ve noticed: The idea of conscientiously following Jesus for me personally... Read more

Many kind people have asked me this week if I feel relieved. You see, it was Monday afternoon when I turned my back to walk out of the doctor of ministry office at Wesley Theological Seminary, leaving my huge, final DMin project, that hovering monster who has lived with me for three years now, without one little shred of regret. I didn’t think I would miss it. And . . . I sure don’t. Honestly, while I loved my research... Read more

The Daily Show has run a story on the Obamas’ church decision: Obama’s New Church Honestly? I feel like we dodged a bullet. Many of you know we discussed at length the opportunity to be interviewed on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.  Thanks to those of you offered your wise (and not so wise) input; in the end we decided it was probably best not to take Mr. Stewart’s kind offer. Today I am thanking God, as, while I think I can clap... Read more

Last week as we were lined up at the door to The National Cathedral the security people there instructed us to please turn on all our telephones before entering.   This is apparently to make sure that what we claim to be cell phones are really cell phones and not some other nefarious gadget.   As I handed mine over to the secret service agent I heard the man behind me comment, “Well, this is the first time I have... Read more

Thanks to my kind friend Terry Lynch at the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, I had the great opportunity to attend the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral this morning.  I can’t really describe the experience . . . it didn’t feel quite like a worship service, as everywhere you turned there was one famous person or another.  The crowd was very small and VIPs all around, but it seemed a fitting recognition, after the craziness of yesterday, that, not only... Read more