Rustlings

Yes, I was glued to the television for the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket that carried the Dragon SpaceX capsule into earth’s orbit last week. In prior years, I was tuned in as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, as subsequent Apollo missions made it and missed it,...

As we look forward to the celebration of Pentecost (Sunday, May 31) and the month of June, the voice of David Bowie is echoing in my head, ‘Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…’ Some things will not change as we enter the month of June. We will not regather in our Sanctuary for...

Three years ago, our church evaluated its seminary/pastoral internship program. We discovered the model used through the prior decades did not adequately integrate with current seminary models or the needs of current seminary graduates. After much study and prayer, we...

I enjoy watching children step onto elevators. If I’ve already boarded the steel box, I resist pushing any buttons. Inevitably, the child wants to push the buttons. The attending parent almost always allows the child to push ‘their floor,’ and then I politely speak...

(Warning: this article contains generational references which may be meaningless to those under the age of 50. Please read with caution.) A long, long time ago in a cultural milieu far, far away, we spent our summers watching re-runs on television. At 7:00pm, we would...

I’ve become accustomed to the teasing, and I assure you I don’t mind. Recently, a family member inquired if I planned to collect an offering at my daughter’s upcoming wedding! I assured them I had not planned such…but now that they had mentioned it… A lot of...

And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Faith is grounded in the past. It is birthed from the testimonies of saints who have walked before us. It is shaped by our prior experiences of the perceived...

What about Saturday nights? It has been gratifying to see so many people take advantage of the online programming our church has offered over the last several weeks. More than 3,000 people have taken advantage of our Livestream worship each week—obviously members and...

The Lenten season typically begins with the reading of Jesus’ wilderness temptations. As this unique Lenten/Covid season slowly slips into Holy Week, maybe we should glance at a portion of the story again. The first temptation is to turn stones into bread. It is the...

This year’s Holy Week will be like no other. We are accustomed to gathering in our Sanctuary to wave palms on Palm Sunday, gathering in the upper room (the Parlor) to remember the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, gathering in the Carpenter Chapel to venerate the cross...

How long, O Lord? It is a question asked by the psalmist (Psalm 13), the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and the prophet Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1). It is a question being asked by many of you as well…so I thought I would share a few answers… How long, O Lord…is the minister’s...

What we do on Sunday mornings is important. The influence of worship and prayer in our lives and in the world should not be minimized. Prayer is our subversive work in the world. Worship is, all at once, an affirmation of our allegiance to God and a rebellion against...

It was Spring Break 1980. Four college freshmen piled into a 1972 Chevy Vega, left Central Kentucky and headed to Pensacola, Florida. An ice chest took up two-thirds of the teeny-tiny trunk. It was filled with enough bologna, hot dogs, soft drinks, mustard and...

There is always something to do in Greenville. This is one of the reasons I—and so many others—love this city. Pressed into the parameters of this great city and county are countless opportunities to enjoy the arts, sports, intellectual pursuits, dining and the great...

I knew it. I had felt it. I had an intrinsic understanding of the concept. A colleague of mine put this reality into words, and it has stuck with me for a decade. She said, “It’s always two things.” It’s always two things. Life is never black and white. There is never...