Rustlings (August 10, 2020)
Lessons from a Covid Haircut. To be safe, the hairstylist came to my condominium—masked and sanitized. In the open air of the parking lot, she turned on her clippers. I told her, “You know you are about to disappoint and delight two different populations at the same time.” COVID Lesson #1—You can’t please everybody. It’s […]
The Branch—August 10, 2020
Click to Access PDF
The Branch—July 20, 2020
Click to Download PDF
Rustlings (July 20, 2020)
Without endorsing any political party, I need to give a little credit to the late Congressman John Lewis. I was an enthusiastic, up and coming, young pastor when I met John Lewis. He was visiting Georgia State University’s campus. Several ‘young leaders’ were invited to meet with him, and as a twenty-one-year-old, freshly ordained minister, […]
The Branch—July 13, 2020
Click to Access PDF
Rustlings (July 13, 2020)
Time is relative. It has never felt more relative—at least for me—than in recent months. As schedules are adjusted and normal activities are abated, the days and weeks seem to glacially drag by. (With South Carolina temperatures in the 90’s this week, ‘glacially’ may not have been an apt descriptor… but you get the point.) […]
The Branch—June 29, 2020
Click to Access PDF
Rustlings (June 29, 2020)
Pastoral Pandemic Putt Putt. Yeah, it’s a thing. I just made it up. In conversations with church members via telephone, Zoom, Church Chat, Facebook Messenger, Livestream sidebars, etc., people consistently share their grief over lack of social contact. They particularly express some sorrow over lack of face-to-face contact with their minister. Add to that, when […]
Rustlings (June 22, 2020)
On a recent pilgrimage to Greece, I meandered among the ancient ruins with a less-than-ancient ‘Whisper Headset’ on my ears. Through this miracle of radio technology, a guide provided detail and narrative to the statuesque rubble that surrounded us. I was reminded of the differences between Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns. I learned cultural details […]
Rustlings (June 15, 2020)
In the meantime… In the meantime… It’s a phrase that indicates things are not what they were nor are they what they will be. Between our past and our future, we dwell…in the meantime. It was just months ago that First Baptist Greenville was filling her pews each Sunday, planning meaningful Holy Week/Easter Services, putting […]