Sermonic Bingo Last month I commented on some practices church members participate in, which elicited some positive and some consternated responses. Good; that was the point — and I had some very good conversations as a result. However, since I gave church membe... Read more
Access to God's Presence Come with me to the Oval Office, the most powerful place in the world. The year is 1962. Men in gray suits solemnly circulate around the room. Polite knocks at the door, and more enter. Read more
Fame Rush This summer, conference administrators allowed me to speak in the adult auditorium at camp meeting — the “adult table.” The experience left me with a variety of new things to reflect on. Read more
When the Canaries Stop Singing Before modern technology, coal miners placed canaries in cages throughout their subterranean tunnels as an early warning against the invasion of carbon monoxide. The toxic gas often seeped into mines, odorless and thus undetected — until the songb... Read more
Four Things Church Members Do ... That Would Get Them Fired at Work I debated on placing a lot of qualifications on this article. You know, things like, “just because you do this doesn’t make you a bad person” or “this may describe you, but Jesus still loves you” or “I know you have been hurt by someone, and I und... Read more
Circus of Grace Rule No. 1 for law enforcement chaplains is to never interfere with an arrest. But one time I did. It was before I knew better, predating my volunteer ministry as a chaplain. Read more
Why You Need Church More Than Internet People stay “in touch” with machines more than people. Of course someone will protest this point, reminding me that people stay in touch with people by touching their machines; but that only proves my point. Our relationships have becoming increas... Read more
Eight 'Secrets' to Health During my first West Coast pastorate, my son came down with a stubborn rash. Perplexed, our family physician referred us to Sang Lee as as “the best allergist in Orange County.” Read more
That's Grace Out of breath and dripping with rain, I leaned on a back-alley dumpster as the man I just met in a bar aimed a heroin needle at his bulging vein. Just then a police SUV rolled around the corner and splashed to a stop before us. Wincing as the wind... Read more