“That is why I started to write. To save myself.” Eldridge Cleaver in Soul on Ice I suspect that is also why some people started to preach.
‘Forever Changed’: Fellow Warriors
My Journal Writings from Balad AB, Iraq April 2005 – Sept 2005 The following is an account of my fourth deployment into the Global War on Terror. I wrote this as a weekly journal/email account I sent back home to…
Between the lullaby and the requiem
The hospital waiting room on the fourth floor at Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston was empty and quiet. The only sounds were the dinging of the elevator in the distance and the clanging of the food cart as…
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…
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…
A prayer for peace
In his recent lament over the Trayvon Martin tragedy, evangelical leader Jim Wallis implored: “If there ever was a time that demonstrated why racially and culturally diverse congregations are needed — that time is now.” For the past 4 1/2…
The gift of a ministry of presence
It was impossible to go to all of the breakout sessions at the CBF General Assembly in June. Because of this, my wife and I chose sessions that would be most applicable to us as a pastoral couple getting ready…
Making (theological) sense of natural disaster
Like many, I’ve followed the story of the tornado-spawned tragedy in Oklahoma. The images called up memories of when an EF-4 tornado swept through Murfreesboro, Tenn., where I served as a pastor at the time. A young mother and her…
Time to count our blessings
My ministry “day job” is to give leadership to my church fellowship’s national disaster response. In this role with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, I interact with our churches, other churches and faith-groups, NGO’s and voluntary organizations active in disasters. I…