We stood there in front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World, listening to our youngest pleading for a chance to ride a real roller coaster.. We had ridden Goofy’s Barnstormer 70X7 times. The sign declared, “You must be this tall to ride this ride.” Even cheating up on his heels, Caleb stood an […]

As we read through the Bible we sometimes hit buzzwords. When we do, our theological tools of community, reason, experience, tradition and prayer help us avoid interpretive missteps. Isaiah describes Israel as Sodom and Gomorrah.  Genesis 19 tells how one evening, two messengers came to Sodom and began setting up an overnight camp in the […]

With the invention of the telescope, Galileo’s math began to reshape the long held church-state understanding that the earth was the center of the universe. Instead of embracing the unfolding scientific truth, the church clung to a literal interpretation of scripture, citing passages like Psalm 104:5 “God set the earth on its foundations; so that […]

Think about a holy moment: a memory that is excellent, lovely or good. Maybe you saw a leaf dance down from a tree, heard a toddler laugh, felt God in the bagpipes, or simply made some excellent tofu chili? Find that holy moment- linger in it like prayer. Having found and held that holy moment, […]

I don’t know about you, but when I go to the grocery or lumber yard I like to make a list. Strangely, I prefer to make my list on recycled paper with a pen. Last week, I scratched out a quick list to pick up after my lap swimming: dog food, coffee, creamer, cherries, shaving […]

A few months after my dad died, my brother John and I sat by the fire pit telling tales when John mused, “You know, I was thinking that one of those people who would bail you out of jail is now gone. There are not too many of those!.”  John’s words stirred my grief, so […]

Thirty years ago, I could not imagine I would fall in love with the United Methodist Church. The first time I visited Centenary UMC in Lexington, KY, I lined up a second “more theologically acceptable” church for us to visit later that morning. Connie, my spouse, had to employ some strategic guilt to get me […]

My friend Tom lives only a leisurely bicycle ride from the beach. Coming back from the community pool, Tom’s neighbor noticed a nice cooler sitting by the curb near Tom’s trash bins and asked why Tom was throwing it away? Tom said, “We are not throwing it out. It has waters for the guys on […]

I have had a few nicknames conveyed by coaches and youth groups – Sledgehammer, Turquoise, Dr. P, Abraham Lincoln (it’s a long story about seminary Greek and a blizzard), Dr. P, P, P-Funk, Triple P and one of my favorite swim team coaches called my brother “Purdue” and me “Purdon’t”.   If you had a spiritual […]

When our unchurched friends think about the Bible, they often picture a compendium of  “thou-shalt-nots”, “oughts”, and flat out “nos”. Deuteronomy 16 offers an unexpected command to give ourselves over to celebration, to feasting, and to renewal. The Passover Feast rules revisits God’s weekly calendar: “on the seventh day will be a celebration for the […]