When Christians Dominate

Last year, our dog, Sonny, was put down. It was not an easy choice to make. Ever since, my kids have been asking for a new pet. Some days they want a new dog, other days a cat. They’ve asked for pet birds, pet bunnies, even a pet turtle. I can understand that; when I […]

Happy Earth Day

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too. Because God is the one who established it on the seas; God set it firmly on the waters.” -Psalm 24: 1-2 (CEB) Happy Earth Day! The first Earth Day was the brainchild of […]

Love the Place You Love

My childhood tastes like Ma’s chicken slick and fried pork chops and fresh blueberries from the bushes out back. It smells like dry leaves and wet mud and freshly cut grass. My childhood sounds like a metal bat hitting a baseball and cicadas whirr-whirr-whirring and my aunts and uncles harmonizing around an out of tune […]

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 […]