Change of Scenery
Every season has its own particular glory, and with that, downsides, too. Summer has so much to commend it that there’s no need for me to restate the obvious. But there are negatives that deserve mention. In the summer, wrote the Bard, “sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, / And often is his…
Read MoreAnd Now for These Commercial Messages …
During my days as a youth pastor, I worked at a camp each summer where every time the camp director rose at the end of a meal to give the campers some new information for the day, the kids would break out into a song: Announcements, announcements, announcements: A terrible way to die, a terrible…
Read MoreStitching Together the Patchwork Family® – Interview with Barbara Carnal
This interview was from the January-February 2007 Issue of Homiletics The Family Connections program was developed over a number of years by Barbara Carnal, a licensed professional counselor specializing in family life, and a parent of birth, step-, foster and adopted children. Barbara serves as an ordained deacon at the First Presbyterian Church of Hilton…
Read MoreGive It a Rest
My colleague Bob Kaylor is on sabbatical this summer. You can read about it in this issue on page 7. I think he’s doing something important — for himself, his ministry and his church. He will be a better person for it. Let’s talk about sabbaticals for a moment. I read an article recently the…
Read MoreCruise Control
Summer is movie blockbuster season, and there’s no movie I’m more excited about than the new Mission: Impossible — Fallout flick coming out at the end of July. It’s not because this is one of the greatest movie franchises ever (it’s not), nor is it because it has all the elements of a good spy thriller, including…
Read MoreLet’s Try to Keep the China on the Table – Interview with N.T. Wright
This interview was from the March-April 2007 Issue of Homiletics The Bishop of Durham in England, N.T. (Tom) Wright, was formerly Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and Dean of Litchfield Cathedral. He has taught New Testament studies for 20 years at Cambridge, McGill and Oxford Universities. His Jesus and the Victory of God, The New Testament…
Read MoreThe Apology
I am writing in the frenzied climate of the sexual abuse scandals hitting the political, media and entertainment industries. Big names are involved — Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Charlie Rose, Louis C.K., Matt Lauer, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey and others. Many of those implicated or accused have admitted wrongdoing and offered some sort of apology. But,…
Read MorePraying with Body and Soul – Interview with Jane Vennard
This interview was from the November-December 2006 Issue of Homiletics Jane Vennard is a spiritual director, retreat and workshop leader and lecturer. She lives in Denver, Colorado, where for many years we was a Senior Adjunct Faculty member at Iliff School of Theology, teaching numerous courses on prayer, spirituality and discernment. Vennard is the author…
Read MoreThe Preacher as Tour Guide
When I was in college, I took an involuntary vow of poverty and majored in history. One of my internships was working as a historical interpreter at Gettysburg National Military Park, site of the great Civil War battle in 1863. Every day of the summer, I gave a 90-minute walking tour of different parts of…
Read MoreDoctrinal Statements: Do We Need Them?
Recently, I visited over coffee with a pastor I had never met. I had anticipated the meeting eagerly. He was, after all, a recent arrival in the community, and I believed we might have a good, collegial relationship. I still hope for this. He asked a lot of questions about cultural, political and doctrinal matters.…
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