Holy Bread, Wonder Bread: part two

(This is part two of a three part series. Part One can be found here. Part Three can be found here.) John 6:51-58 Starting around the turn of the twentieth century, there was an epidemic of a disease called pellagra. Mostly forgotten now, it was an epidemic that lasted roughly 40 years. The […]

Holy Bread, Wonder Bread; part one

(This is part one of a three part series. Part two can be found here. Part three can be found here.) John 6:35, 41-51 Growing up, I would estimate we ate cornbread with at least four meals a week. I bet I ate more cornbread than actual bread. On special occasions we would […]

When Church Is Canceled

Today at lunch, my wife asked me a question across the table: “What are you going to do this week?” “I have no idea,” I said. “I need to think about it.” I literally lost sleep over the decision, but last Friday I sent out a message to my congregation: all church events […]

What Granddaddy Shared with Me

Granddaddy was raised in a family that was not very affectionate. He did not often hear the words, “I love you,” growing up, and there wasn’t much tenderness in his family. When he married my grandmother and became a father, he had a lot to learn in that department. He often struggled to show his […]

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, […]

Saving Souls or Saving Bees?

I have often said that you cannot write a job description for a pastor. In the seven years now that I have been in pastoral ministry, I have been with families as their loved ones passed from this world into the next, I have played games and made crafts with kids, I have stirred stew […]

How to Talk About the Environment in Your Church

I hate being called an environmentalist. I avoid using the word “environment.” The phrase “climate change” is not in my lexicon. At least at church, that is. Why? Because I have found that these and others like them elicit a knee jerk response from a good number of people in my church. When I’m labeled […]

Christians Should Care About Creation

I was a quiet and well-behaved kid, for the most part. I kept to myself, read a lot of books, and always tried to follow the rules. It was out of character for me, then, and quite audacious, when I told my second-grade teacher, “You’re wrong about that.” It was in a science lesson […]

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 […]

Jesus’ Question: God and Healthy Bodies, part two

[Note: This is the second of a four part series developing a Christian theology of physical health. See here for part one. The three points you need to understand going forward are: 1) Your body is not your own, but God’s. 2) God likes your body. 3) You are supposed to use your body to […]