Last week, Carol and I joined the 4 to 5 million pilgrims who will make their way this year to Assisi, Italy, the cradle of Franciscan spirituality, to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis and buy sacred refrigerator magnets….
My trip to the seamy world of horseracing
I have been looking for an excuse to wear my fedora. When friends from church invited us to the horse races, they assumed we had been before. They do not know I am still working through the list of things…
Do or donut; there is no try
Some would be embarrassed to admit they went on a tour of doughnut shops, but those same people would be secretly jelly to learn that Carol and I have experienced the marvel that is the Brooklyn Donut Tour. We invited…
Easter is for those who have been to the cemetery
Next Sunday, people in the United States will wish Easter felt like it did three years ago. They will put on new shoes and wonder if they should have gotten a half size larger. They will consider going out for…
Elton John, minister of music
I was mortified when my mother asked Glynn, a high school senior, to give me a ride home. Glynn had two sisters — Lynn, a freshman, and Flynn, a seventh grader like me. I never had spoken to any of…
The days after Groundhog Day
If you are like me, then you are still cleaning up candle wax and eating leftover crepes. People who are not as educated as the readers of Baptist News Global may not completely appreciate Groundhog Day, which began — and…
Here’s looking at you, kid
“How are you?” “I’m sorry. What?” “I said, ‘How are you?’” “I’m 60.” “I asked, ‘How are you?’” “I know.” We didn’t know we were lip readers, until we started wearing masks. We thought our hearing was fine, until every…
What to do when the neighbors are loud
Imagine the opening scene of Love Actually in Hugh Grant’s voice: “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in…
Raymond Bailey was my mentor
Two days after Raymond Bailey’s death on the First Sunday of Advent, I talked about him at my church staff meeting. I told the staff how Raymond taught me to preach, showed me how to be a minister and pushed…