Shakira came into Bubba-Doo’s last Thursday like she so often does, somehow looking extra focused on that day. Shakira is a strong young woman. She always moves with purpose and keeps a lot of things going in her busy life….
Lessons from caroling with The Choir that Shows Up
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…
What are you wearing to Thanksgiving dinner this year?
You’ve heard of Hot Girl Summer. You’ve heard of Christian Girl Autumn. Tis the season for the Thanksgiving Outfit. Back in 2016, as many American women remember well, the brown button-up skirt made its way across stores and into our…
The spiritual practice of friendship
I was at a friend’s birthday dinner when news broke that Matthew Perry, famously known for his role on the TV show “Friends,” died at 54. The person sitting beside me saw the news first. I heard her gasp, but…
My Old Kentucky Prayer
The world is always falling apart. The sun stops shining. The sky goes dark. The war in Israel is overwhelming. The divisions in our country are painful. Poverty and prejudice surround us. After a recent Gallup Poll, the headline was,…
The vice and the cure
Livy, the great poet of Rome, once said: “We have reached the point where we cannot bear either our vices or their cure.” As was true for the Romans, so it is for us. The political and social fabric of…
Talking about a controversial Country song at Bubba-Doo’s
There are questions I’m not always in a hurry to answer because of what I do. When you’ve been asked to remain as politically neutral as humanly possible so you can minister to a wide variety of people, the littlest…
Farming is ministry: 5 ways your congregation can start today
Two years out of seminary and a year into the pandemic, I walked away from my full-time nonprofit position and onto a farm. Far from walking away from ministry, I found farming to be a ministry. One that embodies unique…
Is worshipping online a valid substitute for in-person worship?
According to data gathered in 2021, a couple is divorced in America every 46 seconds. This means two to three divorces happen during an average wedding vow recital (2 minutes), more than 156 divorces occur during an average romantic comedy…