[Note: this article is slated to run in the March 13, 2015 edition of the Denton Record Chronicle. An analysis of this mystery worship and the LDS environment may be found here.] It may have been the first Sunday in daylight savings time, but that didn’t keep people from filling the worship space at the LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) on Teasley Drive in Denton. We attended the 9 AM sacrament meeting, the first of three... Read more
Democrats are furious, Republicans defiant, it’s a possibility that an egregious act of treason has been committed, but more than that: neither side knows the rules of civil discourse any longer. What we have is a bunch of children ruling this country. I for one say, “enough is enough!” When two people or two parties disagree, no matter how serious the disagreement, the only right and mature action is to go directly to the person with whom you have a... Read more
I am not complaining. Hear this: I am not complaining. I’m in Los Angeles staying at the medical center hotel on the UCLA campus. The only people who can stay here are those who are doing some sort of testing or procedure at UCLA. They provide daily breakfast. I’m here for the final testing to see whether I can donate a kidney to my brother. I should have the ending answer on this in about ten days. This morning, I... Read more
By now, anyone who has the news on will have heard about the Delta airplane coming into La Guardia Airport that skidded off the runway. It came within feet of plunging into the icy waters of the bay. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. Unfortunately, even more schedules are going to be disrupted. Heads are probably going to roll at the decision to land the plane the way they did. And, as I wrote in an earlier post, “Nature trumps... Read more
I have just spent the last hour and a half in the Apple Store purchasing a new iPhone. As if I needed it. Nonetheless, the attraction of the best, the brightest, the shiniest technology finally won me over. In other words, I’m just like millions of others. The same thing happens with theology. Who wants the old stuff when you can have the new stuff? Who wants to talk about sin? Who wants to talk about the fact that we... Read more
Nature trumps all human plans. How quickly and unexpectedly it can ground us Grounded–that’s the word used when airlines have to cancel flights for weather. And that’s what has also happened in the area here in North Texas for much of the last couple of weeks. And it was my situation on Sunday morning. Although much of the ice/snow mix melted late Saturday, there were still patches of ice everywhere with some churches cancelling services for the sake of the... Read more
I’m cleaning out computer files and found a something I had written for a baby shower for my niece. Apparently we were supposed to write out the best advice we ever got from our mothers. Here’s what I came up with: I’ve been racking my brain for advice from my mother on raising babies. I honestly can’t remember any real advice. She offered a ton of encouragement, and was a wonderful help when the boys got older. She wasn’t very... Read more
“Tell me a story.” Or, “Let me tell you a story.” Possibly two of the commonest phrases in our language. When I was preparing for the final project for my doctorate, I spent time learning how societies without literacy transmitted information from generation to generation. They told stories which stayed remarkably consistent during their generational transfers. They served a societal glue–people who knew the same stories could be trusted. Religious groups also tell stories. Similar stories hold churches together and... Read more
Several weeks before the beginning of Lent I began to consider and pray about how best to use this time to bring glory to God and clear my own way toward a repentant and tender heart. For years I’ve told people who inquired about their own personal disciplines, “When your first response to an idea for something to relinquish for Lent is ‘No, not that!’ you have probably found an important clue to what you need to do.” For me... Read more
The number one thing is, “Don’t send your used shoes.” Compassionate people plus tough and tragic situations equals a desire to do something, anything, to relieve suffering. So we ask, “how can I help?” There’s plenty of suffering to go around. From mass near starvation of Syrian refugees to daily destruction issued by Islamic terrorists to destruction and death in the Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan to the average, everyday angst that afflicts most everyone–well, we’re just not going to run... Read more
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