Martin Luther King Jr.   “The Strength to Love” chapter one:   Rarely do we find people who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.  There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions.  Nothing pains some people more than having to think. …  Our minds are constantly beginning invaded by legions […]

How do I pray for a candidate?  Even without a clerical collar people share with pastors the concerns of their hearts. It is a privilege to hear these privileged conversations.   I once sat next to a seasoned public servant at a chicken dinner.  I asked “what is it like to be a senator?”   He shared […]

In these days leading into an election, as in every day, God calls us to be people of prayer. Prayer is the sustenance of our souls. With election some 38 days away I invite you to be in prayer each day over the next 40 days for our church, our country, and our candidates. As […]

If I look at my left thumb, I can observe the most miraculously ordinary biological drama unfolding.  Three weeks, several inches of black nylon, medical care and incredible engineering are turning a once bloody wound into a remarkable scar.   When I consider the two inches of pinkish newborn skin reconnecting my palm to my thumb, […]

One hundred years ago, Chevrolet’s first production car the Classic Six hit the streets. You started it with a hand crank. On my third birthday, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Each morning I put an altimeter, atlas, Bible, bookstore, camera, calendar, calculator, computer, compass, record player, TV, level, fax machine, and phone into my […]

  When Lyn Bas sent her three girls off to college she launched them with more than well wishes.  Lyn gave each child a list of her favorite Bible verses. The girls already knew these verses because Lyn sought to ground her life in the teachings of Jesus.  We parents often focus on education, music, […]

Sunday, I will preach from 2 Samuel 12, where the prophet Nathan confronts King David.  It is a powerful story.  We will explore the nature of prophetic speech: what separates it from normal speech, its’ tone, how it corrects lives and our need for it today. If you are in town, join us for worship.  […]

Every seat on the 6:30 flight from JAX was taken.  I sat by the window as the last stragglers looked for space in the crowded overhead bins.  She was the last to board and took the empty seat by me.  Looking away, she slid into the seat, slipped on sunglasses and plugged in ear-buds. Not […]

Labor Day found me falling out of our boat as we put it on the trailer. Time stopped, as I tumbled towards the trailer and concrete below. I flung my head heavenward and whispered a prayer “don’t crack your head on that winch”.  I crashed down onto the trailer’s metal tongue shaking the hitch, trailer, […]

Leaving a packed church after a Friday afternoon funeral, I am pondering the idea of “church”. Most Bibles translate the Greek word ECCLESIA as “Church”.  ECCLESIA means “the ones called out”.  In times of loss I often remember that we do not make our vows out to Jesus and a building.  No, we promise to […]