Back in the Reformation, when the divine right of kings was still taken for granted and Habsburgs and Medicis wielded all the real...

What does water mean to you? When I started here in Pauls Valley, I started pouring water into the baptismal font at the assurance of...

When I think about the impact of Jesus' death on the disciples, I first think about Mary Magdalene in the garden on Easter morning. She...

The last time I wrote deeply about the Holy Spirit (in a blog post last October called "The Holy Spirit is Power") I was thinking about...

Our Book of Order, the constitution of our denomination, says that, "The baptism of our young children witnesses to the truth that God...

I've kinda been thinking of the homilies I preached on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday as a series. Of course, these events...

At the morning Service of Prayer at 8:00AM every weekday, I read the daily lectionary. These scripture selections complement the Sunday...

I was thinking about the annual rhythms of the church year. We call that the "liturgical calendar." The year starts with Advent, which...

One of my favorite parts of scripture is Isaiah 43:16-19. "Thus says the Lord, / who makes a way in the sea, / a path in the mighty...

Dear friends, I have a lot of systematic theology swimming in my head about Christmas. I know, you're surprised, right? I tend to...

Advent is a strange season in the church year. We just celebrated Christ the King Sunday. From the perspective of Christ the King...

I've been thinking about thanksgiving (little-t, being grateful and feeling gratitude) in the face of abundance that makes it easy to...

What does the word "communion" mean? When someone "communes" with nature, they are going outside to be present in the world. This is...

One of the most profound things I learned is one of those things that's easy to get wrong, but if you stopped and thought about it, you'd...

In the 1980s, American Express commercials told us "Membership has its privileges." I never understood that. Other cards like Visa and...

I remember the first time I was ordained as a ruling elder in my 20s. The interim pastor, Harry Beverly, called in the big guns, and we...

"A Scout is loyal: a Scout is true to his family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and country." This is the second point of the Scout...

When I was a consultant, I was trained in project risk management. List things that could go wrong. Assign a best guess of the percent...

I had an email exchange with a friend about forgiveness. My friend vaguely referred to someone with whom he had had conflict. My friend...

"What does it mean," I asked on Easter, "that Christ is risen?" I listed a lot of good things: It means we're free from fear, free to...