only wonder understands

As I sat at the Titan’s game on Christmas night, trying not to freeze my keister off, I had a lot of time to think about the dynamics of attending an NFL game versus participation in a community of faith (Lord knows, the game was so one sided that I didn’t have to think about […]

Adam and others have posted on the recent disaster in Asia and I don’t have much more to add other than to remind folks that the death toll so far is equal to three 911’s. May we have as much compassion for those who suffer across the ocean as they had for us during our […]

Written orders of worship / bulletins are pretty much considered passe’ today as technology has moved away from prayer and hymn books in favor of projected images. Some of this move toward projected hymn lyrics arise out of Yohann Anderson’s work which suggests that most persons are intimidated by written music and the folks are […]

As I was preparing to leave the church after our Christmas Eve services this past Friday, one of my church members came up and asked if I wanted his tickets to the Titans / Broncos game on Christmas night. Normally I probably would have said no in favor of family activities, but this year was […]

Merry Christmas from the dad with new kitchen shears….

Mother cradles baby at her breast. Father looks on anxious, and wishes they would rest. A long and sleepless night has come and gone, and now these tired parents have a son. For nine long months they’ve waited for this long tiring night. For nine long months they’ve waited, just to see this sight. They […]

Understanding the Great Thanksgiving The Lord be with you…. And the people respond, “…and also with you.” You begins the conversation that marks the beginning of the communion ritual for many mainline traditions. These words go back centuries. Hippolytus, the 3rd Century commentator on the worship practices of the church mentions them as a part […]

One of the critiques of the mainline liturgical tradition that I hang with is that the creeds, prayers, recitations, etc. are dead and lifeless, bereft of meaning. Again and again I hear folks from non-liturgical traditions suggest that saying written prayers or reciting creeds is not spontaneous and not from the heart. Author’s note: I […]

In January of 2003 I set up this blog as a means of “accountable journaling.” I had always wanted to journal, but usually failed miserably. So I thought I would do this with the belief that knowing it might be read by others would make me likely to write. That hasn’t always been the case, […]

It’s raining again in Nashville. Snow is on the way and we are looking at a couple of inches — not much if you are Jordon Cooper in Saskatoon, but quite a bit in the land where folks don’t know how to drive. I’m trying to decide whether we will cancel services tonight. My tendency […]

Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis, or maybe the holiday season is calling for changes in my life. Tonight I’ve spent some time tweaking my blog template, going with a “cooler” look (cooler as in color temperature, not in terms of fashion). I am also about a week into a new mustache and goatee, which of […]

I jut finished reviewing Jenell’s excellent review of Brian McLaren’s “A Generous Orthodoxy.” This review doesn’t quibble with the content per se of Brian’s writing, but evaluates the gender dynamics present in the work. Certainly Brian is moving forward in his relationships and respect of women, yet as Jenell points out, the work also has […]

Bob Carlton keeps e-mailing and asking for my top five posts of 2004. I’m not really sure that there are five worth reading, but here are five that I like for various reasons: 1. Reflections on Community 2. What Does It Mean to be Emerging? 3. Confronting My Racism 4. Christians Make Me Angry 5. […]

I confess that I am resonating with Jen Lemen tonight. Not in that I avoid upper case letters, although there are times when I feel like throwing conventions to the wind and go into the Greek/Hebrew mode and omit all punctuation entirely. My connection to Soul Sister #2 isn’t about some stream of consciousness love […]

Via Dave McIntyre: 1. Muslims do not recognize Judaism as a religion. 2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. 3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as leader of the Christian faith. 4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

My energy level is pretty well depleted. I’m supposed to teach a Bible study on the Beatitudes in a half hour or so, but I can’t get motivated to prepare so I guess I will just wing it (that’s why I went to seminary, wasn’t it?) The woman who I wrote about earlier is in […]

I hate school fundraising projects. Why is it that we think we have to turn our kids into raving capitalists in the name of their education? Beyond the fact that most of these sales really have a poor point of return, it is a problem that we basically tell kids that they are responsible for […]

This afternoon I headed downtown to check out a member in the hospital. It’s a bit of a drive from the South Nashville location where my church is, and I always spend that drive time listening to NPR and wondering what I might find when I get to the hospital. It’s a hit or miss […]

Jennifer Freeman said that she was going to stop blogging, but thank God she hasn’t. Jennifer has been a great supporter of me through the past couple of years and I was glad to see that she was writing about her experiences. Today she offers an important reflection on her discomfort with folks who freely […]

Liver Judgmental people The King James Bible Traffic My waistline Propaganda (liberal or conservative) Brussel Sprouts Post Nasal Drip (sniff, sniff) Cats (which give me post nasal drip) Professional Wrestling (unless I’m with a group of guys laughing over it) Boring theology books that use too many esoteric words Tiny airline seats (see #5 above) […]