For our final day in San Diego, I spent time at two tourist destinations.One of them was what everyone does while in the city: the San Diego Zoo.  In a word: as good as advertised.  (Actually, that's four words, but you get what I'm saying.)Whether it...

While Julie is out in the San Diego area at a conference for professionals in the medical field, I am tagging along, serving as a VP's husband.So while her conference was beginning on Sunday morning, I took the opportunity to go to the 8:45 worship service at North...

We've been saying throughout this series, "Jonah is not about a guy in a fish.  It's about a man on the run."  And so it is. But the part about the fish isn't so bad.To see what that's all about, check out Rudown.Sunday.8:30.  10.  11:30.

It is awfully easy in the pastorate to slip into the role of armchair psychologist.Which means this: when people make appointments to meet with me in my office to discuss a pressing life issue, I listen reflectively, probe background and even childhood issues, and try...

Heath Bradley, the Teaching Pastor at Pulaski Heights UMC in Little Rock, recently came up with what I believe is the best summary of the differences between theological conservatives and progressives.  Ever.  Here it is:Conservatives tend to be more...

I have to admit it:  Don Henley is my favorite musical artist of them all.As much as I love U2, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones, I love Don Henley even more.  It doesn't make any sense -- I know he's not as influential or as...

I fought with my microphone all day yesterday.It started popping at the most inopportune moments during the 8:30 service.  I couldn't tell if it wasn't connected to the battery pack correctly or if the cord was caught up in my clothing or even if I just wore the...

Quick:  if you hear the name Jonah, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? The fish, of course.  (Or whale, depending on how you’ve heard the story.) But Jonah is not about a guy in a fish.   It’s about a man trying to escape his call, hide...

In 1986, Julie and I went to an Eric Clapton concert in New York City's Madison Square Garden.  Clapton looked something like this:Meanwhile, we concert goers that night looked a bit like this:Well, this past Tuesday night, Julie and I saw him again.  It was...

Here's the video testimony that closed the sermon on Sunday:Not only is "that what a living relationship with Jesus Christ is all about," that's what being able to pastor and teach at a church where we are inviting all people into a living relationship with...