Growing up in Southern Appalachia, I was reared on what the mountain and foothill people called Jack Tales. Stories involving a young protagonist who finds himself in a world that sounds familiar but is filled with the unfamiliar. Jack’s adventures…
Going out for coffee and finding nourishment instead
“I’ve got to get out of this office.” I don’t know if I say these words aloud or if they’re just in my head, but on cue, I push away from a computer screen I’ve been staring at too much…
Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed
Brian Dawkins wants to be known for more than his 16-season football career with the Philadelphia Eagles. In his new book, Blessed by the Best, Dawkins gives readers an inside look at his football career and the journey he believes…
Baseball is teaching my grandchildren how to cheer for others
My heart jumped into my mouth as my adult son, Doug, began to unwrap the baseball supplies he had purchased for his son, Harris, ahead of the beginning of his first T-ball season. Spilling from the plastic bags were tiny…
The pastor as chief encourager
Clergy have been called many things through the ages. We are the “chief among sinners,” after all. In some ways my own ordained ministry has been guided by the wisdom of my graduate advisor at Duke Divinity School, Bishop Will…
The power of an encouraging word
One doesn’t typically reach my age without the onset of one or more health issues that must be confronted. So, in this 75th year of my life, I have had lower back surgery to help ease the pain in my hips…
We’re prepared: a word of encouragement to my clergy colleagues and to those who love them
My clergy friends and other siblings in ministry, it is time for us to stop saying that we are not prepared for this moment of chaos and crisis. Hear me say: yes, we are.
In ‘Whiplash,’ a stark reminder: Teachers have power to abuse
Teachers live in duality with their students. The students either love or hate the teacher, depending on how the teacher is perceived. Some of that is well earned. Teachers have the power to make or break students. They can be…
Praying behind his back
Recently my family was honored to participate in my son’s ordination to the Gospel ministry. After heeding a call from God, enduring seven years of higher education and gaining quality experiences, his church in Topeka, Kansas felt it was time…