I grew up in a family that worshipped the trinity: God, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Dallas Cowboys. I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, while my father was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. By the time…
Judging the stripper and the carouser in ourselves at the Communion table
“The Bible says not to judge,” my Sunday school classmate says to me. I reply, “So, you’re making a judgment that my position on judgment is wrong?” I smile. “You see the irony here, right?” The person stares. Perplexed. I…
God, bless this football game to our blood lust’s nourishment
I walked out of the stadium press box and headed down the aisle to return to my usual seat where I’d sat at least five Saturdays a year almost every autumn since 1972. A woman who appeared retirement age said:…
E.Y. Mullins, the piano mouse, the Cowardly Lion, and the monkey trial
In July 2025 we will mark the 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial regarding the teaching of evolution in Tennessee. The trial represents a key moment in the debate between modernists and fundamentalists. Like all history, the story offers insights…
It is well with my soul? How Mel Gibson and toilet paper helped rescue my appreciation of a hymn
I knew there would come a day when I couldn’t sing it. As a kid, I loved the majesty of the hymn It is Well with My Soul. As life’s harsher realities set in, however, I came to hate it….
As someone with family in McMinn County, here’s how I’m straddling the fence on the debate over Maus
Several folks have asked my opinion about the recent controversy over the book Maus and its removal from the middle school curriculum in McMinn County, Tenn. Two disclosures: First, I have deep and abiding family roots in McMinn County. Second,…
What’s in your box? How I’m learning to put shame in the trash can
I spent years, decades in fact, boiling in shame. My scalding journey is well captured by one of the characters in DC Talk’s brilliant music video Just Between You and Me. I use this video in marriage and family classes…
Addressing war with those who don’t remember 9-11
I work with a variety of young people in a variety of settings. Today in a class in one of those settings, and on impulse, I told the class I wanted to take the temperature of the group. I said,…
Dear whoever you are:
Dear Whoever You Are, Who Gave Me an Anonymous Gift Ten Years Ago: As you know, back in 2012, during the national economic Great Recession — and what was to be found to be the localized Great Coverup of the…