“You’re Invited”
Several years after that first Sunday service in Arizona, one of our roadside signs was stolen. The gall! We got together. How do we get the word out about Coolwater Christian Church? We made a grocery list of every publicity-generating thing we could imagine. That’s when Russ Garrett, an eighty-year-old cowboy, raised his hand and said, “This is all well and good, but I’m the sign for Coolwater. You’re the sign for Coolwater. If the way we live our lives doesn’t point beyond ourselves to God and we don’t think enough of our church to invite others to be part of it then we’re wasting money on road signs and postcards.”
Discernment: A Primer
We’re embarking on a season of discernment in the congregation I’m serving as Interim Lead Pastor. There is a difference between discerning and merely deciding. To decide is human, but to discern is divine.
The Orchid Show
On a trip to Chicago in March, Jennie and I received complimentary tickets to The Orchid Show at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The promotional postcard promised exhibits featuring “more than 10,000 stunning orchids and other tropical plants.”
I’m a dummy when it comes to flora and fauna. I had to look up the words horticulture and floriculture as I was writing this to know what they mean. The definitions confirmed I am ignorant of both.
The Easter Yawn
Jennie and I worshipped on Easter Sunday in the midst of a full congregation adorned in colorful Easter morning attire. All the generations were present. The beauty of the day outdoors was matched by the splendor of the sanctuary’s décor. The scent and sight of lilies on the chancel steps rendered creation’s praise. The lay leader read the Easter scripture with verve. The choir sang with gusto. The preacher preached a word/Word that set my pen to scribbling memorable lines and insights. Everything was Day of Resurrection fine, I’m telling you … except for the Easter Yawn.
"Living Out the Verbs of Our Lives: Transitioning into Retirement"
I retired last year after forty years of congregational ministry.
Colleagues asked, "What made you decide it was time?" "What's it like?"
I answer, "It's a transition. I'm figuring it out as I go."
Here is my six-month report of discerning my call to the next chapter of my life.
The Parable of the Flag Poles
I did a double take and made a U-turn on one of Jennie and my road trips (I’ve dubbed them “retirement junkets”). I wanted to take a second look at something I’d seen out of the corner of my eye in passing. A church had two large flagpoles facing the highway on which the United States flag and the Christian flag fluttered side-by-side fifteen feet or so above the parking lot … Read on for a meditation on the relationship between church and state.
A Rite of Passage Remembered
Our two oldest grandchildren from Arizona are spending ten days with their grandparents this month. Both have enjoyed being Cub Scouts. Here is a piece I wrote when their father, our son Will, was a scout. The piece was published in Scouting magazine in their October 1996 issue.
Essay: John Lewis “I Am A Witness” Exhibit
A framed version of this essay on the death of Congressman John Lewis, first published on 7-22-20, introduces a photographic display at Union Presbyterian Seminary at Charlotte. "I am a Witness" chronicles the unlikely friendship of Rep. Lewis with Wade Burns, a member of my wife Jennie’s extended family.
Article: “Learning the Hard Way”
Published in READERS WRITE section of The Sun magazine, Oct. 2022
On the way home I got in an accident at an intersection: I braked, slid thirty feet, and rear-ended the car in front of me. No one was hurt — though I had the distinct impression I would feel some pain after I told my dad what happened.
Essay: “Tribute”
This morning, Mr. Joe Robertson and Elder William Reed came a calling from across the years. They’re both gone now. They didn’t know each other. The only thing they have in common is the color of their skin and their both having blessed me by receiving a younger me into the hospitality of their presence. Today their visages come to mind and I am grateful.