For 25 years, members of Crescent Hill Baptist Church have caroled along Frankfort Avenue, the Louisville street where the church is located. The group that convenes for three or four nights each year can best be described as “The Choir…
How you connect apocalypse to Advent affects how you interact with the news
Few activities fuel a connection with Advent like reading the news. Stories about weather catastrophes, wars and rumors of wars have many Christians across the theological and political spectrum wondering if the apocalypse is near and perhaps finding themselves praying…
Skipping verses: When the Christmas Kranks read Scripture, at Advent and otherwise
John Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas got me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. It was the same with Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Days, which evoked such uncontrolled laughter that many in the New Year’s Day crowd at the Nassau airport…
Looking beyond ‘fact or fable’ alternatives in the Christmas stories of Matthew and Luke
One of the learning activities I sometimes used when discussing the nature of Jesus in my New Testament undergraduate classes was a “forced choice” exercise. We moved the chairs to the sides of the room and all the students stood…
Easter Monday at Bubba-Doo’s: The car wash explained
I needed the day off, although I would have gotten by OK if the church were open. Thankfully, my congregation has for years closed the church office so the staff can have the Monday after Easter off. Easing around home…
About those C and E people
Perhaps we are the most vulnerable to channeling the Prodigal Son’s older brother right about now. As we anticipate sightings of Christmas and Easter worship attenders this Sunday, we may find ourselves thinking, “Well, there you are, all happy and…
With holidays now passed, African immigrants to U.S. savor their memories of home
With Christmas and New Year’s Day now passed, many immigrants to the United States are filled with memories of home — whether they could travel there in person or not. The holidays bring forth beautiful memories for those who now…
This Christmas, the Holy Spirit sounds like an oxygen machine to me
Don’t let my name fool you. One of my most redeeming qualities is being a realist, often named by others as pessimist. In the spirit of that title, or misplaced naming, I am unsure how I will stomach Christmas this…
How I am believing in the Christmas story this year
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23) It is a commonplace observation of mainstream historical-critical New Testament scholars…
A case for why Mary didn’t know
I have appreciated the recent writing of Julia Goldie Day. She speaks wise words, especially for the voiceless, the oppressed, those marginalized by our society. I read with interest her recent post about the now-popular Christmas song “Mary, Did You…
Celebrating Christmas with extravagant joy
A few years back, Catherine bought me a T-shirt that says, “In a world of Grinches, be a Griswold!” I love Christmas. I am a Griswold. I go all out with decorations, both outside and inside. I just put up…
Your new favorite Christmas song: How to Make Gravy
The sad songs that are popular at Christmas are not sad enough. Sinatra’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas pretends to be sad, but Frank promises that “next year all our troubles will be miles away,” and Frank usually got what…