A friend’s recent successful heart transplant caused the resurfacing of an old question. Many years ago, when my daughter was a little girl watching the evening news with me, there was a report of a heart transplant at a nearby hospital. Danna asked, “Daddy, now that he has a new heart, does he need to…
In the five months between my last Interim Pastorate and the present one, I preached and visited numerous churches. The various worship styles reminded me that I worship better when I am a participant, versus when I am an observer. I suppose there is a place for spectator worship, and I am certainly in favor…
I remember a weekend where my pastor-father spent Saturday morning preaching the funeral of a long-time church member and close friend, then spent the evening officiating the wedding of a young couple who had been faithful in the church through their youth years, but in between, he made it to yet another one of my…
One should always be open to suggestions. For many years I traveled back and forth to Vancouver, Canada, and while there I loved Tim Horton’s coffee and Canadian Maple Donuts. So much so, that I developed a theory that the “manna” (meaning, “what is it?”) of the Old Testament might have been donuts. Now that…
The Old Testament word for “Manna” means, “what is it?” No one has proven beyond a doubt what exactly manna was, except that it was God’s provision for His children given on a daily basis (Deuteronomy 8:1-16; Exodus 15:4-15; John 6:31). With somewhat of a sweet tongue in cheek, I decided that it might have been donuts,…
An abundance of uncertainty has characterized the world with COVID-19. Borders began to close, meaning my frequent ministry trips to Canada and Mexico came to an end. Speaking engagements were cancelled as conferences were forced to abide by governmental protocols. My calendar was suddenly covered with more Wite Out than ink. Then, just as it…
The brackets have been set. It’s time for “March Madness” – that wonderful season of the year when college basketball dominates office and coffee shop discussions. It is a time for the thrill of victory as well as for the agony of defeat. Underdogs excel. Bracket busters abound. However, something else dominates the news. While…
It wasn’t that I wanted to feel like a child, again, but it sure was enjoyable for a few minutes. Last week, I had completed my six-month physical exam at my doctor’s office when he told me that lady who does his blood work was out that day, and I needed to go across the…
Some mornings I wake up feeling older than I actually am. Other mornings I wake up feeling younger. I’ve decided socks are for younger mornings. I mean if God wanted me to wear socks, He would have put my feet higher up toward my knees. I’ve also learned why old people insist on driving in the far-left lane. They can’t…
I don’t know how many churches I’ve been in. Surely the number is in the hundreds. Mostly, but not exclusively, Baptist. They have been large, medium, and small; red, yellow, black, and white; city, suburb, small town, and open country; alive, dying, and dead (with delayed funerals). In most, I have worshipped, at least at…