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Is The Bible Clear?

I recall a visiting pastor preaching often in the church of my childhood. People loved him for many reasons, primarily because he was a “son” of our church and a very good preacher. I explicitly remember this—repeatedly he would declare that “the Bible is abundantly clear!” He preached it with that exclamation ...

Signs and Wonders (Written by Marlin, not by Kim—Sorry Kim) Operator Error!

“Faith Without Works is Dead!” Brother James I need to see action to have faith. And I have to act to sustain my faith. Because of these two realities in my own lived-out journey, faith/believing is daily work. Interacting with others, whether Christian or otherwise—mostly Christians—helps my faith. But, of ...

Our Children are Paying Attention

He Is My Neighbor—so help me Jesus! For going on three years now, Sally and I have been a part of a local endeavor to provide basic needs for people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. The downtown Methodist church faithfully and sacrificially offers their facility on Tuesday and Friday mornings, along ...

Strutting Their Stuff

Nature’s Way This morning I watched two tom turkeys wooing one hen. They strutted around with wing feathers on the ground, all 18+ tail feathers fanned out, heads pulled in, chests thrown out. And they struck this pose for well over an hour. It was, well, spectacular! And the noises were also quite enlivening. They ...

Deconstructed Bouquet

Let Yourself Fall Apart The print above is entitled “Deconstructed Bouquet” and is from the collection of local artist Mariah West . As you look closely you see that the vase in the background is empty. “Everything that was on the inside of the nice, safe, orderly container of the vase is on the outside now. ...

Nationalism and Jonah (Part 2)

Patriotism When I was a child, Memorial Day and the 4th of July were two of the high times in the year. Our little town took these days very seriously. We had a parade, a town picnic, fireworks, softball games and flags—lots of flags. Early in the morning on these national holidays my Dad would wake up my brother ...

Nationalism and Jonah (Part 1)

Not for Children Only We spend so much time obsessing over what really happened that we leave stories like Jonah’s for children’s Sunday school.  The political backdrop gets lost among coloring pages and craft-time with whales and bushes and giant worms.  But the story has much to say to our current ...