Growing up in Memphis, I passed by First Baptist Church countless times. FBC is located at East Parkway and Poplar Avenue, a very prominent corner in midtown near Overton Park. Despite all those trips down busy Poplar Ave., I never had a reason to step inside this large, and historically influential church. But for the [...]

Though there are several accounts of the first Thanksgiving meal, most agree that the context for it was a festive celebration for a successful harvest. Growing a much-needed crop was critical in the early 1620’s as the emerging English settlement had limited resources for feeding the growing colony. The bounty they hoped for was flint [...]

This Thursday, before everyone sits down to debate if the glass of life is half full or half empty, remember to first give thanks for the glass...   All good gifts around us, are sent from Heaven above. So thank the Lord for family and friends, and the love that holds us together. May you and yours be especially blessed [...]

The saying in Tennessee is “if you don’t like today’s weather, just wait a couple of days.” The accompanying pictures were taken of the same azaleas in my yard this week, two days apart. One was taken on a magnificent, shirtsleeve November day with the flowers looking glorious. The other was taken when I was [...]

     One of the best but most often overlooked writings of C.S. Lewis is The Four Loves. In this work Lewis explores four streams of love, framing each by using ancient Greek keywords: storge (affection), philia (friendship), eros (romantic love), and agape (charity).      How these forms of love are expressed are as different as what they represent…love that bonds a family, [...]

I am writing this on Friday, October 31…aka Halloween. Over the years it has been called Samhain, after a Celtic autumn festival, and All Hallows’ Eve, the day before All Saints’ Day. Church history records that we have our Catholic brothers and sisters to thank for All Saints’ Day. Pope Gregory III is credited with establishing November 1 as [...]

This week the Annual Meeting of the National Association of United Methodist Foundations took place at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Representatives from nearly all 47 UM Foundations were present for three days of worship, prayer, plenary addresses, jurisdictional conversations, focus group sessions, creative networking, and collegial communion. NAUMF is a network of United Methodist Foundations across the [...]

October is one of my favorite months of the year. The crisp morning air brings a welcomed relief from the lingering heat of summer. The leaves on the trees begin to bring the colors of the rainbow to earth. High school and college sports are in high gear. The anticipation of upcoming holidays begins to [...]

For the decades I served local churches as appointed clergy, I would occasionally encounter acts of good will and affirmation in October. This isn’t because I wasn’t blessed to receive compliments and acts of gratitude for my pastoral efforts during other times of the year, but because October is traditionally known as Clergy Appreciation month. [...]

I am always sent to self-reflection when I read Paul’s praise of the Macedonian churches in II Corinthians 8. Paul was seeking to raise funds for the relief of the poor Christians in Jerusalem during a time of difficulty for the Mother Church of the Christian movement. Paul praises those Macedonians “for during a severe ordeal [...]