I am one of those “put your money where your mouth is” kind of guys. Sadly, these are not easy times for folks like me. For example, if you really respect the service and sacrifice of our military, don’t call…
The peril of getting too comfortable in church
More than 65 years of “church going” has made me appreciate a comfortable “church.” My bum is not what it used to be, so a little padding helps — actually a lot. A good sound system that can fill in…
Lessons in hate and hopelessness
One of the compelling parts of the story telling of the TV series “The Chosen” is the reverent sharing of back stories that could have tied these scriptural people together. One of the best has emerged in Season 2, episode…
Baylor and Buckner remind us: We’ve not yet reckoned with our past ties to slavery
A special commission at Baylor University recently reported on its historical research about the university’s founders and their connection with slavery and the Confederacy. This follows on the heels of a discovery reported in September 2020 that R.C. Buckner, for…
What I learned working in a Texas prison: Retribution, not reformation
I served as a pastor for 33 years and then worked nearly six years as a counselor at the most high-profile maximum-security prison in Texas. There, I ran the mental health department, nestled in the prison infirmary, which serves all…
How much wealth does America need before we’ll address homelessness?
In college I read a story by Leo Tolstoy called “How Much Land Does A Man Need?” Tolstoy’s story is about a peasant named Pahom, whose desire is to own enough land to make him wealthy. It did not start…
The ongoing epidemic of pornography in the church
My first experience with porn was vacuuming cars in my dad’s service station. I was about 10 at the time, and I found magazines under some of the customer’s company cars which had naked women on almost every page. My…
Four tools the church has to recover those who followed Trump’s siren song
I have had on my mind and heart the debacle that has been visited on Trump evangelicals: The “Chosen One” was “unchosen.” Donald Trump will be leaving office either by walking away or being escorted out of the White House….
In the first year of grief, walk the perimeter
In the counseling setting, I often tell my clients it takes a year to get a sense of the loss we have experienced. I compare it to a person who has purchased a piece of land and walked out the…
I didn’t understand the Black experience in America but I am learning
Diane Wesh first fled the cultural racism of America by what she called “solo travel,” which was getting away from the forces of racism she experienced every day of her remembered life. This is part of her story: “Being Black…
Thank God for scientists who know how to create vaccines
Every day I thank God for men and women in the sciences who see the COVID-19 virus as the challenge of a generation and are doing all they can to find both a vaccine and a treatment. I believe the…
What counseling domestic abuse victims taught me about the election results
One of the difficult and sad responsibilities that falls to counselors such as my wife, Anna, and myself is working with victims of domestic violence. We share that difficult task with law enforcement, with the exception that these cases can…