Buzz! It’s what happens when something catches on, gains attention, and creates anticipation.  Nothing helps a local business like creating a conversation that spreads as in “Hey, have you been to that coffee shop down on Clematis? You have to… Continue reading

Christmas is a season when we try to focus on joy, rightly so. The story of a Babe in Manger catches our imagination. The songs of angels in the sky makes us want to sing, too. Wise men who come… Continue reading

  I love giving gift at Christmas. I’m not all that good at it, but it is fun to try. Bev, my late wife, was the a master of gifting! She never just went shopping to  ‘get a gift.’   She… Continue reading

Recently I discovered that it was railroads that brought the concept of ‘time zones’ to the US about 150 years ago.  Up until then, each town set its own clock by the sun which was not a problem when people… Continue reading

Do you ever feel like an ‘outsider?’  As conversation swirls around you, do you ever wonder, “where do I fit into this scene?”  I do!  I can connect in social settings that are shaped around my role as a pastor… Continue reading

I am deeply suspicious of institutional power!   A person who is handed authority without any checks or balances in place is almost certain to eventually become a tyrant. History tells us that ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”… Continue reading

Thirty years ago while I served alongside of my father in ministry as an associate pastor, in a thriving church, I would sometimes go with him to funerals, to the hospitals, on visits to homes of the elderly. He often… Continue reading

Just about every parent has heard this complaint in one way or another. “You never do anything for me.” Perhaps it is because our child’s friend just got that latest greatest smartphone while she has to use last year’s model.… Continue reading

Jesus’ arrival, a baby boy born to traveling parents, laid in a manger, gets ‘prettied up’ in our retelling. We bring all our ooh’s and aah’s as if he arrived in the hospital maternity wing, the next beautiful baby to… Continue reading

On a run to the hospital last night, I drove through residential areas and the child in me started to take note of the houses that were decorated with lights.  Some, like mine, included a polite nod to the Season.… Continue reading