• The Agony of Preaching

    Some helps for preachers and those who hear them “28  We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” – Colossians 1:28-29 (NASB)  …

  • “Walk Together Economics”

    Step One: Design a replacement for the failed 401(k) Plan.  Professor Daniel Hemel, University of Chicago Law School, presents a viable option – Professor Hemel’s retirement plan, as published by ThinkAdvisor, borrows the same model used by members of congress and other Federal employees: “A public option in the form of the Thrift Savings Plan, currently…

  • Prayer Beads: An Essential Utensil in the Kitchen of Prayer

    The above prayer beads area available at Unspoken Elements. Their guide for using the prayer beads is found here – https://www.unspokenelements.com/pages/how-to-use-anglican-prayer-beads

  • “Prayer: Dare to be Honest with God!”

    A ninety-something year old Mr. Sachs turned to me after a memorial service and said, “There are three stages in life … Youth … Middle Age and ‘You are really looking good!” Turn to someone and say, “You are really looking good!” One Friday in seminary, we attended what we thought was one of the…

  • “Come and See!” Your Fabulous New Year

    A bed by the window! There were once two men seriously ill in the same small room of a great hospital.  Just large enough for the pair of them, with two beds, two bedside dressers, and a door opening on the hall, and one window looked out into the world! One of the men as part of treatment…

  • a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance

    Ecclesiastes 3:4 This was me, looking very Baptist,  as the new pastor of Laveen Baptist Church, 1984. Back in my office, which was separated from Ruth Ann’s, the Church Secretary, by the mimeograph room. A mimeograph was a noisy device that demanded the user wear rubber gloves as it flung chemicals and ink all over…

  • From Darkness into Light

    Postscript I wanted to blog about living through the “dark night of the soul” as it has been my own experience this year. Last January I underwent a successful da Vinci robotic surgery for a stage 2 cancer on my right kidney. Coming up on the one year surgical anniversary, I’m able to reflect on…

  • Common Ground

    The first Sunday of New Year I couldn’t waitFor my favorite pew … where I’m never late.Bulletin, Bible held tight in right hand,I marched down the aisle to my holy stand. When to my shock, he sat there in my place,That Mr. Oink, by himself, such a disgrace!Oh, that Oink is so clever, a man of two…

  • Heaven’s Gifts

    Driving home from the Mega-Super storeOn the Interstate pushing seventy-four.Mini-van loaded full of Christmas toys,A day of rush, stress, press and noise. Turning on the radio to find joyful a strain, I blinked and rubbed my eyes to ease their pain.Fiddled with a knob adjusting the  the heat,Two kids stuffed with candy, and gifts wrapped so neat. Beside me was…