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…
When the bride chooses Song of Solomon
Carol and I were delighted to be asked to officiate the wedding of Alyssa Aldape and Nick Schaufelberger. When the lovely couple said, “We’ll pick the biblical texts we want you speak on,” we said, “Sure,” because we are accommodating…
Tooting your horn, missing the point, or telling the truth about church
“Thank you for the tour. Your church has such an interesting history. I was surprised that you didn’t mention God.” What? Really? That can’t be right. Telling a church’s story seems simple. You just tell what happened. Start to do…
Hell is other people, but heaven is, too
Jessica Williamson, a receptionist at a gym in Los Angeles, gets bored, makes a poster and ends up with her story on public radio’s This American Life. She writes “CAT FOUND!!!” above two pictures of possums that she prints off…
My two phone calls to Frederick Buechner
In 1978, someone gave me a copy of Frederick Buechner’s Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC. I read the first entry — “Agnostic: Some people all of the time and all people some of the time,” and we were off and running. By the time…
Are left-wing radicals pushing Cracker Barrel to the edge of the slippery slope?
On Aug. 1, liberals won a huge victory in the culture war. Analysts at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store read studies that promised consumer attitudes about plant-based meats are becoming more affirming and posted: “Discover new meat frontiers. Experience the…