I just returned from a week long Student Mission Trip with Carolina Cross Connection.  The week was filled with home repair work during the day and then spiritual encounters around the campfire by night. This was my 10th year with CCC (seven at Mt. Carmel UMC during...

Yesterday's message ... Began with one of the most enduring images from Davis family lore; Celebrated the ways that the literary choices and narrative technique of Esther's author make all the difference in the meaning of the passage; Included another teaching moment...

Through the years, as I have listened to Conference speakers talk about such subjects as avoiding burnout, staff relationships, and time management, a question kept running through my mind: Is what it took to get us where we are what it will take to get us where we...

We typically think of Grace (God's Riches At Christ's Expense) as that which saves us. We don't deserve to spend eternity in heaven, but because of grace, God sees Jesus when he looks at us instead of seeing our sin, and welcomes us into his kingdom. Even the late,...

These aren't my favorite songs ever. These are simply those songs that, whenever they come on the radio, I keep them on.  Some combination of melody, rhythm, and vibe makes these sound as good as the day I first heard them.  Here they are. 5. Never Been Any Reason, by...

Yesterday's message ... Had some fun with the biblical name "Bigthana" by envisioning a younger brother named "LittleThana"; Pointed out again how often the children of Israel have been subjected to genocidal rage; Explored how frustrating it is when a reward YOU EARN...

Most of you know the old chorus "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands."  It's pithy, child-like, and singable. But is it true? In the face of a whole lot of evidence that looks contrary, is it true? Midway through the book of Esther, you could be forgiven for...

I spent Monday through Wednesday of this week at a United Methodist conference in Dallas, Texas.  As a lot of you know, that's the city of my birth, childhood, and adolescence. One of the first things I did on this trip -- as I do every time on those rare occasions I...

Over the past several years,  I have, thankfully, emerged out of a fog of cynicism. I went through a season where I was so frustrated with the actions of people who described themselves as mature Christians that I almost threw out the notion of mature Christianity...

I just finished reading Frederick Buechner's The Remarkable Ordinary: How To Stop, Look, And Listen To Life. Buechner is a Princeton grad, Presbyterian pastor, essayist, novelist, and occasional preacher.  He just turned 92 and so is not turning out much new material,...