Exploring Faith Through Humor
Our Big Question: Did Jesus Have a Sense of Humor? In our podcast, The Soul’s Garage , we dove into a question that’s been on our minds: Did Jesus have a sense of humor? Now, we’ll admit our trepidation with this topic. As we’ve discovered, when you start analyzing…
A Christmas Memory
“Your father was an interesting man.” That was a statement from a lawyer whom my brother and I had engaged to clear up some legal issues regarding a financial arrangement instigated by our Dad many years ago. There were no major problems, basically just some needed…
A Review of THE FALSE WHITE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy
So Donald Trump has jumped on the Christian merchandising bandwagon with the publication of his “God Bless the USA Bible.” For the low, low price of $59.95, any MAGA devotee can now get the King James Version of the Bible (translated in 1611, back when Christians had…
Pickin’ & Grinnin’
An actor interviewed on a radio program—I think it was Rainn Wilson—confessed to being a banjo player. “I took up the banjo,” he said, “to increase my social isolation.” I feel his pain. As one who has plunked around on a banjo for years, I can testify to the…
A Traveling Mindset
There were three empty seats in a grouping of four with a breathtaking view of the Danube River flowing by our cruise ship. An elegant lady in the fourth chair took her eyes off the German countryside long enough to meet our gaze as we stopped. “Do you mind if we sit…
I Feel Like a Fraud
This post was written by my wife, Penny, after touring Ellis Island. I feel like a fraud. This essay is being written on the fourth of July while seated at a green metal table in tranquil Bryant Park in New York City (NYC). My husband, Paris, and I traveled to NYC so…
AN ALIEN ENCOUNTER
I have been trying to understand why I find myself utterly fascinated by the recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). I have never been a “science nerd,” and when I encounter technical jargon in the articles I read about the JWST, my eyes glaze over….
The Death of God’s Faithful Ones is “Precious”? Really?
I know people mean well. They are just trying to be supportive and helpful. But most of the bromides dispensed like candy corn when someone is grieving are about as helpful as buttons on a dishrag. And after four decades of pastoral ministry I have heard them all….
THE COOK STOVE
[This is the first in a collection of stories based on real events in my hometown. The details are all products of my imagination, but the narrative itself is true. All names have been changed to protect the innocent, and not so innocent.] Folks in Leonard, Georgia…
Too Polarized to Talk About Polarization
Late last year I was contacted by a staff member at a church in Florida. She explained that their church sponsored an annual Peace Conference to which they invited the community to hear speakers talk about various aspects of what peace means for our time as well as…
