I have this crazy idea. It is not the first one I have had and it won’t be the last either. I want my 80-year-olds at church to have a forum to interact with my 30-somethings. In a large church, that simply does not happen. We gravitate relationally to our peers. The merits of intergenerational friendships can be discussed all day long, but in the final analysis, it just does not happen. As a rule, my 80-somethings are not familiar…
I have been observing the saga that led to the termination of Texas Tech’s Head Football coach, Mike Leach, since it all started right after Christmas. I will always be a loyal Tech fan. A lot of fans are outraged at the manner in which he has been treated, so it is with great caution that I weigh in on a subject that is close to the hearts of many. There is not much doubt that the player Leach is accused…
If you live in Green Bay Wisconsin, early morning single digit temperatures during the winter months are just part of another day. But we live in Granbury, Texas. We are not accustomed to the arctic chill. We are really just a bunch of sissies, when it comes to cold weather. Well…maybe I should speak for myself. A friend posted the following status update very early this morning on facebook: Single digit temp… wind gusts at 30… morning run doesn’t sound…
I attended my first funeral service for 2010 this afternoon. A young 42 year old man passed away rather suddenly after a brief illness. He was a volunteer firefighter in Granbury, so that was my basis of association with him. I have served with his wife on several community related projects. You would think a veteran minister would become accustomed to attending and officiating at funerals. But they are never routine. I hope that never happens. When I reach the point that…
I should have never gone in alone. I know better. When facing a potentially dangerous situation, it is never good to fly solo. But I ignored the internal warnings going off in my head, and moved ahead by myself. It was dark and scary, but too late to turn back. I really should have told the boys to call somone if I am not back in 30 minutes. Ten minutes into the mission I started wishing I had brought a flashlight. …
She had all of the tell tale signs and I missed them. Her behavior indicatd that she was crying out for help, but none of us heard her. She was a beautiful 16 year old girl with lots of potential, but there oddities about her behavior. Don’t misunderstand me. She was a blast be around. All of us enjoyed spending time with her. We walked the same line at high school commencement services in 1980, but I bascially lost track of her after our…
2009 did not turn out like I expected. In looking back at 12 months ago, I am not exactly sure what I anticipated that the year would bring. I think I probably had some grandiose plans in December of 2008 for the upcoming year. I think I probably made a list of New Year’s Resolutions, but I am not doing that this year. Life is too unpredictabe for resolutions! I am going to cast them aside this year. 2009 brought a plethora of unexpected events. The…
I don’t think being raised as preacher’s kids has been all that rough on my boys, but I am sure they would tell a very different story. I am sure it would be one worth listening to very carefully. They were conscripted into doing a few things that normal kids did not have to do. When I needed to make pastoral visits at the nursing home, I often coerced them into going with me. Older people confined to care facilities love…
I underwent the initial training to serve as a volunteer law enforcement chaplain almost exactly 20 years ago. One of the department’s deputy chiefs reminded us that the officers serving in the field would at some point be calling on us to minister to someone who was the perpetrator in the a criminal event. In other words, the person that the chaplain automatically views as the victim could very well be the perpetrator instead. The chief was right. In 1990, I…
Last week I completed one of those ridiculous facebook applications that I usually ignore. But this one actually turned out to be pretty interesting… It compiled all of my status updates from the previous year and placed them in one document. I found it to be very revealing. I was reminded of a few serious events that I have been involved in this past year. There also were a few posts that I thought were pretty funny at the time….