Like the rest of the country, I watched the news in shock and disbelief just days ago as unspeakable headlines scrolled along the bottom of the screen: “School shooting in Newtown, CT;” “Gunman attacks elementary school;” “More than 20 feared…
Blue Christmas
Last year about this time I was preaching for the Blue Christmas service held at a church in a another city. It’s one of those services where the church gives a nod to the fact that not all people are…
Hope is my friend
I was cruising through the list of notification on the GoodReads web site when one caught my eye. “Hope is your friend.” Of course, it was a notification that someone named Hope and I had made a social media connection,…
Beautiful City
As I’ve been doing some writing today I’ve been listening to music on my computer. I’d loaded some new songs and I smiled as the opening notes of “Beautiful City” from “Godspell” began. It’s always been one of my favorite…
“. . . as you love yourself.”
If Jesus were pastoring in a mainline, Protestant church today, and were asked the same question scribes and scholars ask in Mark 12.28-31 (What is the greatest commandment?), I think he’d omit the “. . . as you love yourself”…
Prodigals and those who love them
Even if you are the parent of a child who has never rebelled, been in trouble, or broken your heart, please read the rest of this blog. If you have never encountered a day of difficulty in raising your children,…
Worlds colliding
As a pioneer in the field of grief, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross used to hold workshops all over the world. In these workshops people didn’t just learn about grief; they had a chance to do deep grieving of their own. A friend…
Asking for Help
I still remember the look I got from a fellow church member when I mentioned in conversation that I had been seeing a pastoral counselor. The expression was a strange mixture of disbelief and pity. I don’t regret saying it,…
Learning not to be perfect
We live in a world where from a young age we are critiqued. From kindergarten on we get grades that tell us how close, or far away, we are from perfection. To be perfect is the goal for which we…