“A democratic autocrat. An urbane savage. An atrocious saint.” That’s how biographer James Patton described Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States of America. In seeking to write the first scholarly biography of the native Tennessean, Parton felt like…
Praying for death
A year ago we took my mother home on hospice care. She died three days later, mercifully freed from a series of chronic health problems that were cascading out of control. But getting her out of the hospital—her sixth time…
Birthday offerings
What is your earliest memory of giving or receiving? That was the first of a set of prompts given to a small discussion group this week at a class I attended on religious fundraising. My mind immediately pictured a small…
Worship style surprises
“If we put up screens in worship, I’m quitting Wilshire!” Guess the age of the person who said this at a recent gathering at our church. If you surmised this must be the stubborn opposition of an older adult, you…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
By Mark Wingfield Hearing a story about yet another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name, I found myself thinking, “How…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
I just heard a story about another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name. And I found myself thinking, “How uneducated.”…
Competing with big box churches
There’s a “big box” church in our town that’s all the rage. If you live anywhere in America that’s even slightly urban, there’s probably a big box church in your area as well. By “big box” I mean the kind…
Evangelism run amok
I fell for the trap and barely saw it coming. Got reeled in hook, line and sinker. And I should have known better. For several years, an anonymous emailer who portrays himself as a devout Roman Catholic has been taunting…
Be a nudger
During the recent commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, one small detail stood out that I never had heard before: Martin Luther King did not go to the Lincoln Memorial that day intending to say the…