Graduate recognition Sunday at church always makes me a bit teary. I held it together this year, but only by a thread, even though I was the one voicing the prayer of blessing in morning worship today. No, I didn’t…
Moore, Okla. no exception: the second disaster always follows the first.
As if the various formal networks of government, religious, nonprofit, and private sector organizations, plus the thousands of informal networks of families, friends, and new instant friends, did not have enough to do in meeting the needs of people impacted…
Thais of the heart
A Catholic nun and a Baptist minister walked into a Thai restaurant. They sat down and ordered Pad Thai. Over noodles and conversation they discovered that, long ago and some 500 miles away, they were connected to the same roots. …
Homeless
By Alan Bean Homeless, homeless Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake These old Paul Simon lyrics have been running like a soundtrack through the back of my mind for the past few days. My wife and I are homeless. We…
Can you imagine?
“Can you imagine being in a place where you do not know how to communicate??” That is how my friend from South America began a short presentation she will be giving as a panelist for a breakout at this year’s…
Is giving an offering — as an expression of worship — dying?
With online giving through a congregation’s web site, or texting a contribution, or bank drafts, or offering boxes in a corner of the worship space or narthex, or discouraging visitors from giving an offering at seeker services, or giving through…
My marriage fell apart the day the dog died
I am sure you’ve heard the old adage that married life begins again when the last child leaves home and the dog dies. Frequently I also hear people say they moved to a new house without a forwarding address so…
Learning to love a thermostat God
By Alan Bean “Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world?” This question was originally scrawled in the margin of an Alabama newspaper by an exasperated Martin Luther King Jr. The…
The best/worst graduation speech ever
A couple of years ago, I attended a graduation ceremony at Emory University. The keynote speaker was the chief of surgery at one of the nation’s leading hospitals. I didn’t know him, but apparently he was a huge deal. As you might…