A writer is nothing without other people. You don’t think of this when you think of them. Their kind are usually tucked away, secluded and trapped inside a room where daylight breaks in from a single window. The scene outside…
Please stop calling me the young pastor
There is an expression I often see on Instagram. It’s attached to viral videos. A grandmother lighting a dessert soaked in highly flammable liquid. A man adding layer upon layer of tape to his face. Two women making soup with…
What I plan to talk about at Wild Goose Festival
“When are you gonna lead one of these workshops for us?” Tim asked me this question the first time he spoke to me about coming to the Wild Goose Festival. He messaged me out of the blue over something I’d…
The saints we don’t pray to
I have known many saints in my life. My great-aunt Minnie was one. My grandmother “Dood” was too. The lady I call Momma, Penny, is still a saint of affirmation. My spouse, Lauren, has a saint’s patience. She should. She…
Bourdain Day at the Farmer’s Market
I’ll go to a farmer’s market this morning. There’s a large one nearby. The grass will be slightly wet — the humidity thickening like a roux, the heat hinting at a thermometer’s breaking point. I’ll saunter through the sheltered areas….
How can you afford not to? A Southern Baptist timeshare presentation
The first time I ever went to a Busch Gardens theme park, I was made to sit through a timeshare pitch. I still wasn’t old enough to sample the swill of the park’s namesake, so I admit to you I…
Proof that I was worth the trouble: A story of my mother
Sitting in the car with my mother, I kept quiet. I’d already said enough. It was Thursday. My project on the state of North Carolina was due Monday. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Ballard, had made that clear months ago….
When Al Mohler takes up serpents, I’ll listen to his views on women
As a child in church, I didn’t know much. I sat quietly in the pew beside my sister. We’d watch as our Great Aunt Emmie would scoot out from a side door into the choir loft of the small Baptist…
Nothing’s fine: The truth your pastor won’t tell you
How long does it take to tell a lie? The same amount of time it takes to tell the truth. Is there really a difference if you tell it right? If you smile, wave or nod with assurance? If you…
Welcome to the Radical Leftist Scum Club
Costco at lunchtime is an experience like no other. You need to taste and see for yourself how good it is. Motorists brush bumpers backing in and out of parking spaces while weaving through the sea of pedestrians dragging 65″…
Who gets to be a Baptist?
You can’t tell a Baptist anything. This is one of the highest praises and damning criticisms of the group. They are a contrarian type of people. Willing at times to bite their noses off to spite their faces and bite…
Which side are you on?
I was raised at the foot of the North Carolina mountains. Mounds of earth pushed up, bookmarking spots of creation that deserve a little more attention. Scientists say the Appalachian Mountains are ancient. Older than the Rockies, older than the…