A Theology of Whole Hog Barbecue

I’m pretty sure I learned more about church at a barbecue pit than I did at seminary. When I was 12 years old my father, also a United Methodist minister, was appointed to Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Raleigh, NC. It was probably the best thing that happened to my family when I was […]

The Lesson of the Missing Queen Bee

In my last post I mentioned how Castine, my five year old, has become the best little beekeeper helper I could ask for. Every time we go into the beehive together, Cas has one big goal in mind: spotting the queen bee. Of course, spotting the queen bee is kind of hard. While she is […]

Teach the Children Well

“Dad, it’s really quiet out here. I love it when it’s quiet. I don’t like noisy places.” My five-year-old daughter is just like me. She doesn’t like noise. She doesn’t like crowds. She doesn’t like to hustle and bustle. She likes to get away, to a quiet place, a place where she can think, […]

Two Things I Learned Through My Medical Malady Mystery

The morning after Christmas I was standing in an airport terminal, waiting for my wife and kids to get back from getting coffee, when a thought occurred to me: I’m going to end up in the emergency room before this day is over. We were traveling to San Diego to spend some holiday time […]

How to Build Table-Height Raised Garden Beds

Recently I’ve been asked by a handful of people how to build the table-height, handicap accessible garden beds we installed at Selah Community Garden last year. I figured the easiest way to make our plans accessible to the most people was with a blog post. Of course, I’ve never written out a woodworking guide, so […]

Why Dad Does Hair

“Oh my goodness, your hair is so pretty! Did Mommy do that?” “No. Daddy did it.” I swell up every time. “Who did your hair this morning?” “Dad. He’s the hair guy.” You bet I am. “Is your hair shaped like a heart?” “It’s a heart braid. Daddy […]

Recipe: Chicken Stock

Whenever I make things like chicken soup or stew, I always start with a whole chicken, and use the broth made from cooking the chicken as the base for my soup/stew. However, any other time I’ve cooked a recipe that calls for chicken broth or stock, I’ve used store bought. In an effort to be […]

The Use of Money

[Note: This is my summary of John Wesley’s 1760 sermon, The Use of Money. I have preached two versions of this sermon on two separate occasions and received wonderful feedback. Because people have said this has been helpful, here then is my third version of this, intended for reading instead of hearing.] A dishonest […]

Let the Church Die

I grew up in the church, and I’m really comfortable here. The hymnal we use today was released when I was six years old; I’ve pretty much been singing out of it my whole life. Though I do not pastor at the churches I grew up in, the Sunday school rooms still look the same. […]

The Reality of Resurrection: God and Healthy Bodies, part four

[Note: this is part four of a four part series on a Christian theology of physical health. Part one can be read here, part two can be read here, and part three can be read here.] A few years ago I had a ministerial intern serving alongside me named Adam. One Sunday morning Adam […]