Graces I have experienced when grieving
This list began after my Dad died in 1991. I chose not to preach at his funeral, but several weeks later, in a sermon, I listed some of the graces I had experienced since his death. They are...
View ArticleEvery pilgrim needs a notebook
Hebrews 11: 8: “He set out, not knowing where he was going.” Parker Palmer: “From our first day in school, we are taught to listen to everything and everyone but ourselves.” Hardy Clemons: “Treat your...
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The shortest blog on record
“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.
View ArticleThe Oracle of Delphi
Ten years ago, my wife Sally won a trip to Greece. I tagged along. Pure vacation. Great Greek food. In the land of Zeus and Athena, God kept popping up. We visited the Isle of Patmos and saw the grotto...
View ArticleThe new (de facto) Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, And I am against abortions, And I am against homosexuality, And I am against women in leadership in the church, And I believe every...
View ArticleFalling Upward ‘best book I have read in a decade’
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr is the best book I have read in a decade, and I read a lot of books! Richard Rohr spoke to me on every page of this short...
View ArticleBuyer’s remorse for pastor search committees
Members of pastor search committees often experience buyer’s remorse. Buyer’s remorse is when a person or a family has made a large purchase, a house or a car, for example, and then they begin to...
View ArticleThe hardest job in the world
A pastor has one of the hardest jobs in the world. When I was a pastor, I was not willing to say that sentence. It seemed self-serving and whiny. I heard other people say how hard a pastor’s work is,...
View ArticleA “buyer’s market” for pastor search committees
The 21st century is proving to be a buyer’s market for many churches that are looking for a pastor. Even a tiny, troubled Baptist church can get 100 resumes from men and women looking for a church to...
View ArticleWould the real Jesus please stand up?: A Holiday Book Review
On American soil, Jesus was the subject of more evangelical hymns than the Father and the Holy Spirit combined. In fact, while evangelical hymns largely ignored the church, the sacraments, and the...
View ArticleThe niche word
Current wisdom for many professions is to find a niche market and focus. You can’t just write about travel. You have to write about gay travel or traveling as a handicapped person or travel in the...
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How to welcome a new pastor to your church
When Beth McConnell was being introduced to our congregation as our new pastor, someone asked her what we could do to make her transition easier. Beth is too humble to give you this list. Over the...
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No wiggle room on a church staff
www.flickr.com/photos/gregpc/ (This blog describes a problem I have never heard named. Unfortunately, I have not proposed a solution. I hope I am starting a helpful conversation, since I don’t have a...
View ArticleOpinions!
Baptists are an opinionated crowd. We were taught to be that way. Preachers invest a lot of time and energy saying we ought to do this and that we should not or must not do that. If you grew up when I...
View ArticleChurchcraft
I have coined a new word: Churchcraft. What I mean by Churchcraft is an individual’s ability to say and do the things that will help to build the organized church. My observation is that a lack of...
View ArticleDesperate to avoid (dealing with) death
Recently I spoke at a conference of Retirement Community Chaplains. My thesis was that people who deal with the vicissitudes of life best tend to deal best with the reality of death. There are...
View ArticleLearning the unlearning curve
Leaving the familiar is critical to travel and to life. Doing something new is sometimes impossible unless you move past what is traditional, usual. An important part of human growth is detaching from...
View ArticleDoes your congregation need a church search committee?
What kind of congregation do you want? That query precedes the probe into the kind of person you want as pastor? For 15 years I trained churches and their “Pastor Search Committees.” In recent months,...
View ArticleThe heroics of helping others
Who prefers discomfort to comfort? Not me, but sometimes, it’s necessary. I favor tasty food, sweet smells, a good night’s rest (plus an afternoon nap, if possible). I enjoy warm, moderate...
View ArticleBeware of addiction — and know its signs
“To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace.” Gerald May For reasons that go back a few generations, I am interested in addiction. I have studied it, and I...
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