Fitness Center Faith
One of my healthier rituals is to spend several hours a week at our local fitness center working off the stress of the day and the pounds gained from sipping vanilla lattes — one of my other less healthy rituals. The way I figure it, the two rituals ultimately cancel each other out, so it…
Read MoreThe Transliterate God
I was in a taxi yesterday stuck in slowly moving traffic and happened to glance at the car in the adjacent lane. The driver was thumb-twitching like crazy on his iPhone while his vehicle continued to move forward. I know we have laws against intoxicated drivers, but we should — if we don’t already —…
Read MoreChildren in Church: Should We Ban Them or Bless Them?
Last Sunday, I was standing behind the communion altar saying the liturgy, most of which was cobbled together from the United Methodist hymnal and Anglican sources. As I was saying, “Now gathered at this table, O Lord of all Creation and remembering Christ crucified and risen, who was, and is and is to come,” a…
Read MoreNumbering Our Days
“So, teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart” (Psalm 90:12, NRSV). The turn of the calendar to a new year brings to mind the perception that time seems to be moving ever faster these days. Perhaps that’s the product of middle age — being on the downhill portion of…
Read MoreJON, JOB and INRI
You can credit (or blame) AOC for this column. I mean, she’s the inspiration for the meandering thoughts which follow. You see the initials of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez everywhere. AOC is the U.S. representative for New York’s 14th Congressional District. Shortening her name to AOC is a media thing. Much easier to use initials than her…
Read MoreHave Yourself a Medieval Advent!
Planning for Advent is one of the most difficult tasks for the preacher, particularly for those of us who have preached a lot of Advents over the years. It’s that time of year when your local big box store has been stocking Christmas items since late September, when Christmas carols play 24-7 on certain radio…
Read MorePut Some Dinner in Your Church
By Henry G. Brinton When I served a multicultural Presbyterian church in Alexandria, Virginia, older white parishioners didn’t always see eye-to-eye with younger African immigrants in the congregation. Disagreements arose over a variety of issues, including worship and church government. But when we sat down for international potluck dinners from time to time, the…
Read MoreGoing Deep
One of the ironies of being the Senior Writer for Homiletics is that I’m a “series” preacher writing for a lectionary-based magazine. While I’ve used the lectionary at times over the years and certainly value the cycle of texts and seasons, I tend to gravitate toward sermon series and, in particular, sermon series that do…
Read MoreThe Liver Sermon
My grandparents on my mother’s side were German immigrants. When they hit America just before the war, they had no money, no kids and no English. But Grossmama and Grosspapa had plenty of food, especially spuds, which they heaped high on the kitchen table of their southern Idaho farmhouse. We kids liked to visit our…
Read MoreAcquiring More of Less
The 96-mile trek of the West Highland Way ends at a pedestrian shopping plaza in the city of Fort William in northern Scotland. After six days of walking 15-20 miles per day up and down Munros, traversing moorlands, viewing mystical and jaw-dropping scenery and reading place names that seemed straight out of a Tolkien novel,…
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