   Since I have retired, I have visited many churches. Some of them have been huge, seating many hundreds, even thousands, of worshipers. After worship, people may exit out of any one of many doors.    Most of the churches I served were small, seating at the most 200, crowded in for big […]
3298) “Good Sermon, Pastor!” Read More »
By Tom Bodett, Small Comforts, 1987, pages 156-159.    Among the thousand and one truisms that were hurled at us as expectant parents was one I especially wanted to believe:  “You are going to learn the most important things from your children.”  It sounded so promising, and when accompanied by a smug veteran-parent grin, it
   Three weeks ago, I told you about actor Max McLean, and provided a link to a video of his off-Broadway performance of The Gospel of Mark. The production is ninety minutes of McLean doing a dramatic reading of the entire Gospel of Mark, word for word, as it appears in the New International
3264) Hear the Word of the Lord Read More »
   It is a delight for my wife and I to watch the hummingbirds gathering nectar from the flowers in our backyard garden. They are so small, so fragile, so fast, and so beautiful. In the below video, you will see that they are even more magnificent than you could have ever imagined. A
3248) Dancing Rainbows Read More »
 A Methodist minister tells this story…    A family of inactive members in his parish lived right next door to the church. The yard was a disgrace. Wrecked cars and discarded appliances littered the place. The grass was seldom mowed. The husband was a disgrace. He drank too much and rumors were that he
3247) Not All Churches are the Same Read More »
   Max McLean (1953- ) is a stage actor, writer, and producer. I first heard of him in 2009 when he received national acclaim for his performance of Mark’s Gospel. This award–winning stage production consisted of nothing more than Max McLean reciting the entire Gospel of Mark on stage. There are no other actors
3242) Word for Word Read More »
   In Ecclesiastes 5:2 Solomon says, “Do not be quick with your mouth; do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth.” Or, we might say, “God is big and you are little, so show a little respect.”    Every once
   (…continued) Funeral for Ora Casdorph, March 31, 1997, Stover, Missouri:    This is a difficult sermon for me to preach, difficult because I did not know Mr. Casdorph well at all. I visited him a few times at the request of his sister, my friend and parishioner, Mabel Schupp.    For
3198) Two Old Friends (2/2) Read More »
    In my forty years as a pastor I visited many people in their last years, months, and days. Many of these people were in nursing homes, or were shut-ins in their own home. For some, my monthly visit would be their only visitor. These people, who at one time were busy raising families, farming
3197) Two Old Friends (1/2) Read More »
Above: Going to Church, 1960 (I’m the one wearing the black hat) ————————————-    Clayton was a teenager in my congregation several years ago. He was a good boy and always did what his parents told him to do. His parents told him to go along to church with them every Sunday morning, and
3192) Making Memories Read More »
