Nuggets
If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.
Reflections
Stronger than Snot
I’ve heard the phrase “stronger than snot” a few times; maybe even used it myself on occasion. This afternoon, for the first time, I fully understand that term. I was out for my daily walk. […]
“I’m Sorry”
The telephone call came from the director of a counseling center I had met a few weeks before. A mainline congregation sponsored the center; she called me specifically because I served as an evangelical pastor. […]
Non-anxious Presence
The pastoral counseling course my wife teaches to graduate students uses as a text Edwin Friedman’s book GENERATION TO GENERATION: FAMILY PROCESS IN CHURCH AND SYNAGOGUE. Friedman talks about clergy being a “non-anxious presence” when […]
Winter Stillness
In May 1980, we lived in Olympia, Washington. Mt. Saint Helens violently blew its top on the 18th and scattered devastation over a wide swath of the Pacific Northwest. One week later, Sunday the 25th, […]
The Cycle of Good
This afternoon Judi and I responded to a Craigslist ad placed by a young mother selling fabric from her grandmother’s estate. We went through several boxes in the garage and pulled out the cotton fabric […]
Rural Kansas
My experiences have been worlds away from those of my parents. I’m convinced that the places we lived during our formative years made the difference. I attended a high school with more students than the […]
Liver Transplant
The “old phone” ring tone that mimicked the rotary telephones of my childhood indicated that a family member was calling. I reserved the antiquated tone for those who I’d known the longest. I glanced at […]