As a local church pastor, I once received a call from a senior living facility that one of their residents, Mary, who was a member of my congregation, had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. Mary had passed out during the evening meal in the common dining area. The person who called said she [...]

If you have followed basketball over the last forty years, you likely remember the time a reporter asked a young Michael Jordan about why he tried to score so much. Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were winning a lot of games, and he was leading the league in points per game. But he was simultaneously criticized for [...]

My position with the Foundation and Development Fund for the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference gives me a seat at the table of our Committee on Finance and Administration. At our most recent gathering, we faced the task of finalizing the 2026 budget that will be presented for review and approval at Annual Conference in June. John [...]

The four Gospels give us an extensive summary of what Jesus and his disciples did from their entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through that Thursday evening. We also have a painfully detailed account of the abuse, ridicule, and pain Jesus suffered through his crucifixion and death on what we now call Good Friday. However, the Gospels are [...]

My family moved into our current home in 2009. The house was built in the late 1980’s and many of the plants in the yard were well established. One of our favorite features is a cluster of azaleas that sits between two large oaks in our back yard. The two weeks when they display brilliant [...]

“So, you’re a President and a CEO?” This slightly overstated question was posed to me with a touch of friendly, sarcastic inflection by a former associate in the world of broadcast media. For my first job out of college in 1990, I toiled in the sports department at a small market television station. I enjoyed [...]

Are you a patient person? To ask another way, are you good at waiting? Patience can be a test of our physical, emotional, or spiritual limits. When we consider what it takes to be a well-waiting person, it’s not about the interval or the outcome, but making the most of the meantime. The old expression [...]

              How often do we wear the cross? Not a cross, but the cross. A cross might be a piece of jewelry, such as a necklace, symbolizing our faith as a Christian. Nothing wrong with doing that! However, it’s just decoration unless the words or actions of the one [...]

The season of Lent is meant to be a time of self-examination, intentional spiritual discipline, and deepening of the holy habits that inform Christian living. The tradition of fasting, whether it be of food, some daily activity, or even restraint of unhealthy practices, is intended to remind us of our dependence upon God and our need to grow [...]

When I was a teenager, I discovered a weekly column called “Thanks a Million” written by wealthy businessman and philanthropist Percy Ross. People who needed help would write to Mr. Ross explaining their situation and asking for financial assistance. Portions of the requests were included along with Percy’s rationale for his decision, which usually contained [...]