Have you ever looked at one of the buildings downtown and then just let your imagination think about what it was like 100 years ago? That’s what Karl Forehand did when he was standing in the Opp Hotel, in Rock Port, MO some time ago. He knew a few facts and some of the rumors about the old hotel, but then he let his imagination run wild and eventually wrote a novel that was inspired by the old hotel, as... Read more
Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels I used to be a Bible scholar. I took great pride in being familiar enough with the Bible that I could debate the accurateness and efficacy of this ancient book. The many different sects and divisions of Christianity all give varying degrees of emphasis to this collection of literature. Everything changed for me when I began to study it honestly. When I studied it without preconceived ideas, I began to see it for... Read more
As I have begun to investigate the things that Christians typically say, I would estimate that this phrase or a version of it, is the most common thing that Christian say that is also the must untrue. We like to believe that someone is running the show, that someone is in charge of our country, that someone knows how everything is supposed to turn out. If it doesn’t turn out the way we expect it, we like to have somebody... Read more
Most of my life inside organized religion was lived with a certain amount of low grade fear. Many of the authors of the Bible also lived with this assumption that someone was out to get them. Even though there are contrary messages in religion such as : “Do not fear ,” and “fear not,” and “do not be afraid ,” the conflicting message is the one that survives. So which message is true? We can probably condone either message... Read more
Now that I’ve gone through my deconstruction, there are a lot of annoying things that people say. I heard one of them today at my rehab for my stroke. It may have been hightened by the fact that I am recovering from a stroke but it really rubbed me the wrong way. During the stroke recovery group, someone said,”Well, you know it’s a test and if we do well then it’s a testimony. later.”. Several members of the choir joined... Read more
The Tuesday before my stroke I felt a little tingling in my arm. I thought it was because I drank an energy drink. Over the next 2 days, I started to feel symptoms like my foot was dragging and my arm felt heavy. I went to see the doctor. I had been sure to take all my medicines because my blood pressure was high. On Friday morning, we decided to go to the ER because my blood pressure was still... Read more
Photo by Pille Kirsi from PexelsFor 20 years I was somewhat of a church planter and pastor. I would work on projects in smaller communities or where the community had diminished and help them rebuild hopefully to something brand new. In reality, it eventually didn’t look much different than any other church in the neighborhood even though we tried to present ourselves as something authentic. For the last several years, my wife and I have not attended church at all.... Read more
Jason Elam has graciously organized a fundraiser for my stroke recovery. Please decide if you can donate, share or help in another way. This is going to be a long journey and we are committed to it. https://gofund.me/78a17b08 Thank you for doing what you can Read more
(much of this content is inspired by what I’ve learned from Dr. Paul Fitzgerald) We cannot avoid hard work. Whether it is addressing trauma, getting healthy, or building lawn mower engines, there is a necessary amount of things that are difficult. Often, we assume that things can be avoided, but they really don’t go away. The outside wall of my house where the paint is peeling will only get worse over time. If I... Read more
Some time ago I visited a hotel in my hometown to investigate places to have an event. I had heard stories that it was haunted and that there were tunnels underneath the street, but I wasn’t thinking about that when I went inside. It was much like many of the buildings in the town where I went to high school. The hotel was founded around the turn of the 20th century. Almost immediately my mind began to wonder what... Read more
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