When I was in college, I had the privilege of spending a couple of weeks in Mexico, on a mission trip, as a member of something called a “youth choir”. A couple of pre-emptive answers to your inevitable questions: Yes, our shirts always matched….
Angle of repose
Death is bigger than us. All of us. And when we brush up against it, we leave wounded—especially when we lose the ones we love (i.e. friends, family, etc). We leave hurt. Over two years ago my wife’s uncle died…
A tale of two Chucks
What a couple of agnostics taught me about congregational business. I have two friends who are particularly dear to me, both named Chuck. I first met The Chucks, as I call them, a few years ago in a writers’ group…
Judgment and empathy
By Marv Knox Let’s face it: a white person doesn’t know what being black feels like, and a man can’t completely understand a woman. But during this long, hard summer, I’ve tried. First came the George Zimmerman trial. A Hispanic…
Experiencing koinonia — cross culturally
This could probably be two posts in the least, maybe three. But I will limit it. You see, I have experienced “koinonia.” I realize that is a thoroughly “religious” word. I realize it doesn’t mean much to many people outside…
Desperately seeking 20-somethings.
If you’re a long time reader of my work (thanks Mom!) you’ve likely come to the not-so-startling conclusion that a great deal of my ramblings are primarily concerned with my struggles, disagreements, dissatisfactions, and overall existential and sometimes very physical inabilities to be…
Churches and water balloons
Sitting in a dunking booth at a children’s water day is a wake up. Cold water splashed on me as children enjoyed hitting the target to dump water on the preacher. We raised money for a playground and we had…
You’re not the boss of me
How well do you respond when you find yourself in the middle of what you consider to be a power struggle or a challenge to your authority? Power struggles can happen when complete strangers won’t let us park where we…
Zimmerman verdict reveals flawed jury selection process
A jury comprised of five white women and one Latina has acquitted George Zimmerman on all charges. This outcome was largely determined by the way we select juries in America. Imagine that two women who looked like Trayvon Martin were…