Just as we had finished imposing ashes on the foreheads of worshipers, my friend and fellow pastor David Bennett turned to me and said, “Alan, remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” And with those words, David…
Springsteen and Lent: Part I, Ash Wednesday
In graduate school, it can often seem as if all of the good ideas have already been taken. Someone smarter and older has already written on whatever idea you may have. To remedy this seemingly unending problem, one begins to…
At Lent: Sin, evil and us
By Bill Leonard On Feb. 10, 2015, three Muslim students at UNC-Chapel Hill — a married couple and her sister — were shot by one of the “neighbors” in their apartment complex. The New York Times reported: “The victims’ families…
We’ll all end up in Rosemary
By Scott Dickison If you ask the Lanier clan of the west side of HW 121 near the border of Immanuel and Candler counties in South Georgia (not sure about the other Lanier clan, who hail from just across the…
Eyes wide open
After Sunday’s service, a friend emailed me a confession: He kept his eyes open during Prayers of the People, which I led this week. It was a Lenten prayer about finding beauty in dry places, the hand of God in…
What Ash Wednesday taught me about drones
Ashes Unveil What’s Inside of Me From ashes I come, and to ashes I will return. Last week, like many, I participated in an Ash Wednesday service. A time to stop. A time to recognize like all those who have…
Answering God’s call isn’t like choosing the right door
By Amy Butler Most days I’m very grateful for my conservative evangelical childhood. For one thing, I can beat almost anybody at sword drill, which has never actually come in handy since I reached adulthood, but I’m not discounting the possibility…
How can you love God but hate your neighbor? You can’t.
By Scott Dickison For those of us in the Western wing of the Christian family, yesterday was the first Sunday in Lent, which began last Wednesday and is the 40-day season of fasting and preparation leading up to Easter. But…
Ash Wednesday gets us dirty — for good reason
Ash Wednesday is special day for many Christians. I grew up in a Baptist church and never got to experience it as a child. I wish I had because it is a beautiful display of the gospel and now one…