It was a lovely autumn day. I sat on the front porch swing and watched as squirrels continued their collection of items to store for winter. Birds from farther North arrived in the South, nesting in shrubs and on trees, or resting on the telephone wires overhead. Occasionally, a… Read More »Autumn Reflections from the Porch Swing
It’s a statement that resonated within me as soon as she said it. “I went into ministry to help people. Now that I’m retired, I realized that I spent most of my time trying to fix a broken institution which can’t be fixed.” I’ve known my friend for over twenty… Read More »The Church: A Broken Institution That Can’t Be Fixed
It’s a famous quote we usually attribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” King used this quote in 1958 in an article he wrote for a periodical called The Gospel Messenger. He was likely quoting… Read More »The Bending of the Arc of the Moral Universe
I’m a person of faith. But here’s the thing: while I believe deeply in some things, the beliefs I hold most firmly aren’t statements of religious dogma. Even with my theological education, when I think about dogmatic statements, I generally scratch my head and wonder, “What’s the point?” Among the… Read More »Living Faith
To be a Christian, a follower of the teachings of Jesus, is difficult. While living out the attitudes and values of Jesus has never been easy, in our era, there are significant challenges. The most obvious challenge is that the Christian Church today is characterized by egregious actions and statements… Read More »The Difficult Challenge of Being a Christian
Of the areas for personal growth that have been a challenge for me throughout my life, anger has been the most insidious. There are times when my anger flares and seems to take over who I am. I’ve also experienced attempting to not respond to the anger when I don’t… Read More »Anger: An Unexpected Blaze
It’s another birthday for me. While I am another year older, I’m not sure that I’m any wiser. Growing older is truly an enigma for me. When I think about being in my sixties, I’m mostly confused about my life and what it means to be approaching retirement age. Yes,… Read More »Another Birthday for Me
It’s a trip I began planning a few months ago. Taking advantage of the break between my academic quarters, I’m spending ten days in South Dakota. It’s been nearly twenty years since I’ve visited the grassy prairie, the rugged Badlands, and the grand monument to Crazy Horse, the Lakota warrior.… Read More »An Unexpected Loss
