Blog Announcement #1

I've created a new feature for my blog.  You find it at the top of the page.  It's called "Growth Tracks."  You'll find a detailed explanation of the feature by clicking on the "Growth Tracks" link -- probably more detailed than you want.  But in general "Growth Tracks" are small topical study units in which … Continue reading Blog Announcement #1

Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus

There are several steady coffee mugs in my life.  In our kitchen cabinets at home, we have quite a stable of coffee mugs.  Coffee mugs seem to just accumulate over time.  Recently, we cleared some of them out because we were running out of room on the shelves.  I’m willing to drink coffee out of … Continue reading Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus

Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)

It was Tuesday noontime.  I had gone into the big, dark Romanesque sanctuary of my church in downtown Columbus, Ohio for a weekly prayer meeting with a handful or so of people, mostly not members of my congregation but rather folks who worked downtown and constituted part of my weekday ancillary congregation. As I sat … Continue reading Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)

Prayer Note #38 — The Voice

Oh, Lord, how I long to be intimately familiar with your voice. Your voice is full of power -- whether you speak with rock-breaking loudness or whether you whisper quietly in my ear.  Your voice is full of soul-transforming power.  Let that powerful voice pierce to the center of my mind, to the core of my … Continue reading Prayer Note #38 — The Voice

Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning

Lord, the sun is warm and pleasant on my back.  The birds of all sorts are chirping and twittering in the trees around me this morning.  Lily, my gracious, canine companion, is lying beside me with her chin on the bottom rail looking out into the backyard, watching everything and nothing in particular, patient and … Continue reading Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning

Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok

The tinkling of sheep bells was the last sound audible to him fading away up the path and over th hill on the other side of the small river.  The crunch of foot and hoof on the sandy gravel of the path had been lost to him fist, washed away by the splash and rush … Continue reading Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok

Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life

Here I am, Lord.  It's a little before 5:00 A.M., and I've been awake for a half an hour or so, lying in bed, my mind wandering from thought to thought.  I seem to be done sleeping, though the clock tells me that I shouldn't be.  Have you wakened me for some reason?  Or is … Continue reading Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life

Prayer Note #35 — A Prayer for Artists and Artisans

Thanks you, Lord, that you have led me to discover the pleasures of making things with my hands -- durable things that last, things that can be appealing to the eye, things that show the natural beauties of the wood and stone that you have made and the metals you have shown us how to … Continue reading Prayer Note #35 — A Prayer for Artists and Artisans

Marriage is a Mess and Homosexuals Didn’t Do It

Let me encourage you to read this blog posting from Rebecca Hamilton, a Catholic-Christian, Oklahoma legislator. Marriage is a Mess and Homosexuals Didn't Do It.

Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin

Though I am mired in sin, yet still have mercy on me, O Father and Lord of my life.  Capture my every thought and all the impulses of my being.  Make me yours in every facet of my life, so that I might have peace and full redemption in every branch and twig and leaf … Continue reading Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin