“Good Grief!” This expression made famous by Schultz’ Charlie Brown is not going away. Neither is grief. Grief is a reaction to loss, often in the death of a loved one. There are stages to grief, but not all who…
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…
Re-receiving the gift of inclusive liberty, with help from Pope Francis
This past weekend, I offered Baptist ecumenical reflections on Pope Francis’s most recent encyclical “On Fraternity and Social Friendship” (Fratelli Tutti) on the program of the Hearth for the Human Family conference sponsored by the Focolare Forum for Dialogue and…
Carpe Diem: Seize the day before it’s too late
As is my custom, I poured my first cup of coffee and sat down in my favorite chair to check my emails and my friends’ activities on Facebook and Instagram before settling in with the morning news. To my shock,…
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and necessary grace
No one should be surprised. These divisive times we currently endure remain strikingly similar to this nation’s very beginnings. Yes, the current administration continues to break norms and in now predictably unpredictable fashion. It provokes disdain, sows discord, stokes anger…
Friends in the Valley of Shadows
I remember it like it was yesterday. Except it was 2005, and it wasn’t a single instance. It was two years after I graduated, and I was living with two of my best friends from college. And, I wanted nothing…
Healthy self-care is essential for a pastor
Self-care includes developing and maintaining good physical, spiritual and mental health, a uniquely challenging but crucial discipline for a pastor. While these three areas of wellness are intertwined and inseparable, in my own life and the experience of many of…
My connection with the Rev. Will D. Campbell
In the fall of 2004, I was taking a seminary course on Thomas Merton. It was being taught by Merton friend and scholar E. Glenn Hinson. Dr. Hinson knew of my near-obsession with all things Will Campbell, and he helped…
Sustainable friendship a gift from God
Throughout the seasons of life, most human beings are going to be engaged in dynamic human relationships. Home, the classroom, the workplace, recreation, and church all present diverse opportunities for acquaintance and interaction. Among the thousands of people we encounter,…