Category: Random Ruminations

For any man with children, Fathers Day can be nothing short of intimidating.  There are few if any institutions in western civilization that have been more maligned, misinterpreted, and misrepresented.  Popular culture has conspired to make Dad into the designated buffoon in every comedy, the unstable variable in every drama, and the villain in every … Continue reading Who Broke the Baby?

There are times when I look up from what I'm doing and wonder how I ended up in this alternate reality.  Admittedly, some of that disorientation comes from the fact that I'm about to enter the upper middle of middle age, and taking inventory is becoming reflexive almost to the point of obsessive.  When a … Continue reading In Search of Fossils.

Just prior to WWII in the doldrums of the seemingly inescapable Great Depression, Robert K Merton popularized a concept from his position as a research assistant at Harvard that has become orthodoxy in the field of sociology - that of the law of unintended consequences.  His basic thesis, like so much fundamental truth, reflects spiritual … Continue reading Did I Do That?

Just look at me.  LOOK AT ME!!  OK, Okay.... that's a little over the top, but it is, in a nutshell, the primary first impression that unbelievers are often asked to respond to when confronted with 'Christian' ministry.  The enemy knows quite well that man's greatest vulnerability is in his own reflection.  The Roman poet … Continue reading Ain’t I a Dandy?!

Just in case anyone wondered, I am not nor have I ever been a runner.  Thankfully there wasn't room to run very far on submarines, or my military career might have looked a little different.  Between a predilection to development of shin splints and a genetic predisposition to corpulence, this ole body just ain't made for … Continue reading The Finish Lines

"A man cannot truly be born again until he sees his own nature with convicted eyes, and develops a murderous contempt for the sin that caused his ruin."

  There it was - glaring into the night sky to be seen from miles around reflecting off the clouds, looking from a distance like the horizon was ablaze.  As our old Chevy navigated the empty mountain interstate, it seemed as if every curve and undulating hill brought us closer to that looming inferno.  Closer … Continue reading Neon Sign on the Off-Ramp

Note: this one is about the job.... The cry of people who study such things in the modern church is that there is a terminal lack of connection and personal friendship among it's leaders.  I'm not talking about the sort of back slapping pseudo-connection that often passes for friendship at our tribal gatherings, but genuine community.  … Continue reading Joy In the Heavy Lift

"I'm tired!".... "I'm burned out!".... "I'm going to the house!"  It might be surprising for many laymen to know that their pastor has probably dealt with one or more of those impulses on any number of Monday mornings.  The simple truth is -- ministry is HARD!  I'm not sure I even trust a man who says … Continue reading Monday Morning Classifieds

Today is the day.  A week of varied pastoral duties has pulled in a number of different directions, but in the back of my mind I, like so many other of my countrymen, have been anticipating this day.  At noon the unique American experiment in self-government will formally flex it's muscle for the world to … Continue reading Clarity and Concentration