Christmas is past and it is New Year’s Day. We are watching televised bowl games and putting away Christmas decorations. I took the Christmas tree outside to the curb for recycling and the empty space it once occupied looks bare. My wife is working hard at boxing our tree ornaments. By tomorrow …
Theology Spoken in Love
Most mornings, I get up at 5am. I like the early morning quiet before the chaos. After a devotional reading and prayer, I head outside for my morning run or drive to the gym. Upon my return, I usually find my wife awake in bed surrounded by books and scribbled notes. My wife does not like to wake …
Adam and Eve
In 2016, we celebrated my father’s 85th birthday. At dinner, my brothers and sister asked him what remained on his bucket list. My dad said that he wanted to travel to the Galapagos Islands but was previously unable to travel due to my mother’s illness. My siblings and spouses arranged our …
Meaningful Work
Until I met my wife, I had traveled to Missouri only once for a family reunion at the Lake of the Ozarks during my high school years. Since Tracy and I married, I now have the pleasure of visiting her family in Springfield and Ashland, near Columbia, the location of the University of Missouri. The …
Let Your Life Speak
In 2015, I took a required seminary class, Foundations of Christian Education. It was taught by Rev. Dr. David White, the C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Professor of Christian Education. Dr. White is a United Methodist Church elder and scholar. I went into the class expecting to learn about …
At the Car Wash
We have two cars and I like to keep them clean. I used to wash the cars myself, either at home or at a self-cleaning car wash. Now I just take them to a nearby car wash where they do all the work. In 20 minutes, my dirty car becomes shiny clean. Once a year, I get my car professionally waxed and the …
Kindness in the Workplace
Most mornings while eating breakfast, I read the financial news in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Financial Times (FT). The WSJ gives me a North American viewpoint while the FT coverage is more Euro-centric. Their primary focus is financial news but include stories on sports, politics, and other …
Vocations in the Middle Ages – II
Growing up Protestant, I knew little of St. Francis of Assisi (1181/1182 – 1226) until I studied him in seminary. It was his uncorrupted humility and dedication to the poor that won my high regard for his life of obedience. Like modern times, Francis grew up in a time of great disparity between the …
Vocations in the Middle Ages – I
I have a love-hate relationship with the Middle Ages (fifth century fall of Rome to the 1517 Reformation). I love the monastic life, cathedral architecture, and chivalry. I abhor the brutality, disease, and loss of classical knowledge. After the Vandals sacked Rome in 455 CE and then the last Roman …
Kingdom Calling
In my last blog, I introduced a Hebrew word, tsaddiqim, which means “righteous.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines righteous as “meeting the standards of what is right and just, morally right.” How do Christians live as tsaddiqim? It starts with understanding the gospel. Dr. Amy L. …