“Fear can make us hide, love can call us back, and sometimes the person who saves us is the one who has known and loved us all along.” — Jamie Gienapp’s review of Frozen at www.theatrecenter.com I remember the…
‘Pastor, we’ve never been through this before’
Every minister hears these words. And in that moment, when grief is raw and a family looks to you for guidance, what do you say? In Eulogy: Remembering a Life through God’s Good Word, I draw on more than 40 years…
’Round midnight
It is midnight. Not the kind of midnight measured by clocks. The kind that settles into your bones. The kind that lingers long after the sun has risen. We all know this midnight. It is the midnight of the marriage…
How your church can respond when the love of your life dies
My wife, Bobbie, died of Alzheimer’s disease earlier this year. While I have been a pastor more than 45 years and have conducted more than 500 funerals, I was not prepared for the grief that overwhelmed me when she died….
The tears of war
War is often measured in strategy, territory, and victory. But its deepest truth is measured in the tears of those left behind. Tonight, somewhere in America, a doorbell rang and a family’s world changed forever. Inside the home, life was…
Forget empathy, the new war is on lament
Ever since Joe Rigney released his book about empathy being a sin, the TheoBros of conservative evangelicalism have been piling into his bus, demonizing empathy for those they run over as “the greatest rhetorical tool of manipulation in the 21st…
Why I eat an orange every Christmas
Things were not merry and bright for Edison Cantwell and his five children during the 1932 Christmas season. Christmas was not a welcome time for the Cantwells. Even so, the Christmas of 1932 was going to be a memorable one….
Anxiety versus gratitude
Ask me what my superpower is and I’ll answer with no hesitation: It is gratitude. I have a rich spiritual life supported by many practices including labyrinth-walking, prayer, Scripture memorization, active participation in my faith community, and meditation — especially…
Blue Christmas isn’t just for Elvis
My understanding of Blue Christmas has changed over the years. Growing up, the only version of “Blue Christmas” I knew was the one that involved holding a wooden spoon up to my lips and crooning along to Elvis in front…
The power of story
I was raised on stories. I don’t remember a time when stories were not present in my world. Stories were a foundation for my heart long before I knew what that meant and that has followed me all my life….
Upside Down Advent: Joy versus sorrow
Fair warning up front: I’m going to mess with one of your favorite hymns today. Be prepared. But first, a story. As I was writing this lesson, I got a message from a friend whose beloved cat died Thursday. We…
Just me, a pink float and the River of God
For the past few months, I’ve been framing my spiritual life — really, my spiritual health — with a specific image: I am floating down the river of God’s work in the world on a bright pink float that, for…