I grew up in a home where we believed anyone who touched an illegal drug was working for the devil. I was 12 when Nancy Reagan was the guest star on a very special episode of Different Strokes. She told…
Find something you’re bad at
When I was a student in Mississippi, my school did not recognize the existence of foreign languages. My lowest grade in college was in Spanish. My lowest grade in seminary was in Greek. After five months in Chile, I could…
Watching the Tonys, thinking about church
The presenters sound like ministers winging the announcements. I am watching The 76th Annual Tony Awards, celebrating the best of Broadway, and missing the writers. The Writers Guild of America is on strike, so they came up with a curious…
In the beginning and the here and now: Genesis’ call to care for creation
The Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas, should not be confused with the Creation Museum, in Petersburg, Ky. Both museums have a Noah’s Ark, but the one in Texas is only a 25-foot replica, while the one in Kentucky…
What do we do when the thrill is gone?
For a Valentine’s Day episode of This American Life, they told love stories, but not the usual kind. One was a quirky little tale about a couple, Richard and Linda, who had been married nine years and had two kids….
Living before it’s too late
Last week, we used our senior discounts to see a movie for grownups. Carol and I were 40% of the audience. The one other couple there was 20 years older than we are. The ticket-taker apologized to them: “I’m so…
My father’s faith
My dad had a plan for everything and a chart for most things. He had charts for the miles he walked, his weight and the glasses of water he drank. He did not have a chart, but he did have…
Do I Stay Christian? and other questions to think twice about before asking
I like to think of myself as an innovative, avant-garde and cutting-edge minister, so I am always on the lookout for books that will make me look more radical than I actually am. Brian McLaren titled his latest book to…
Your new favorite Christmas song: How to Make Gravy
The sad songs that are popular at Christmas are not sad enough. Sinatra’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas pretends to be sad, but Frank promises that “next year all our troubles will be miles away,” and Frank usually got what…