This is Teacher Appreciation Week. My education came in six phases – elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, seminary, and doctoral work. Much appreciation goes, not so much to those who taught me the most, but to those who made the greatest impact on my life. Elementary School is a no-brainer, partly because of frequent…
April 28 was National Superhero Day, instituted by Marvil Comics and first celebrated in 1995. The day is all about celebrating heroes who inspire others to be better. Now deceased, I had to celebrate mine in absentia. Growing up my superheroes came in two categories: baseball players and preachers. My superhero baseball player was Shortstop…
In 1940, Thomas Wolfe wrote a book entitled, “You Can’t Go Home Again.” He was both correct and incorrect. My first full-time ministry assignment was as the Director of Baptist student ministries and instructor of Bible at Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas. For six wonderful years our home was the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas….
In the years since our marriage, Joanne and I have been members of twelve churches. Each one was unique in its contribution to our family. Each one was unique in the contribution we made to it. We watched our two children grow up in five of them. I baptized our daughter at one, watched our son get baptized…
On the Monday following Easter, it seems appropriate to share some of my favorite Resurrection Sunday quotes: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is…
Last week Major League Baseball celebrated Opening Day. Many years ago, I played on Opening Day. Not so many years ago, I coached on Opening Day. In more recent years, I’ve attended Opening Day games year after year. There is a life significance to Opening Day. Here are a few of my favorite quotes about Opening Day: “Opening day….
March is about basketball madness, busted brackets, championships, etc. Time for some of my favorite basketball quotes, some of which have a lot to do with life itself. Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes. How can you improve if you’re never wrong?– Pat Summitt Bad shooters are always open – Pete Carril Get the…
Like many of my readers, I am well-past retirement age, but still working. One of my “jobs” is serving as Interim Pastor of a church not far from my home in Fort Worth, Texas. On a recent Sunday I used a sermon illustration that related to my baseball playing days at Reagan High School in…
Thank God for the pioneers. It was the early 1970s. Thousands of college students had discovered South Padre Island, Texas. Spring Break was advertised as “Sun . . .Surf . . . Sex.” I was The Baptist campus minister at Pan America University, located an hour from South Padre. I had a group of students…
In recent days, I have been feeling especially blessed. Interestedly enough, in the midst of these feelings, I came across a familiar quote – “In a society that has you counting money, pounds, calories, and steps, be a rebel and count your blessings instead.” I’ve seen this quote attributed to at least half a dozen authors,…