Legacies of Southern Seminary Friday, March 4, about 35 people gathered in Louisville, Kentucky only two miles from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) to think about the legacies of the school.* We met at Highland Baptist Church, one of…
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first daffodil first daffodil of the season tilts her head shyly whispering a promise of spring luminously shining like the sun itself surrounded only by shades of green making me long for a life that shines so cleanly so simply so…
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We incorporate (take into the body) all kinds of memories, postures and gestures that do work quite apart from or despite our best thinking or rational attempts to change. Many of the practices (and wisdom) of the body happen at unconscious and preverbal levels. The way we hold ourselves and move through space entails a deep sort of “knowing” that we rarely think about or notice.
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Behold the Beauty Last night the moon rose behind a scrim of swiftly moving clouds racing off to the east like they had an engagement not to be missed meanwhile back here on the ground the warm breath of an…
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This week the Gospel reading holds one of the hardest sayings of Jesus. At least for me. Matthew 5:43-44: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This one is hard not so much because I have a lot of clearly defined enemies. Although I suppose I do have a few. And no doubt, I’ve made some.
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Hospitality (Part IV) This series on hospitality began several posts ago in a Fellowship Hall not far from here. Tonight I want to invite you back to that same Fellowship Hall . . . about seven years ago. It was…
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Hospitality (Part III) Yesterday I was in a conversation about a stunning new book by Willie Jennings who teaches theology at Duke Divinity School. In 2010, Jennings published The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale). Here is a link…
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Hospitality (Part II) I’ve been rearranging my office space. Moving shelves and seats, the antique church pew, and other furniture. I’ve been rearranging books and things on shelves. I’m in search of a small round table to expand the creative…
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We looked around the room. Then we did a little mental head scratching. Half the fellowship hall had been cleared. Now to set things up. We’ve all done this before.
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aNxIeTy
you can’t live without a little of it
stepping into oncoming traffic would be your end
but a plunge into the waters of anxiety
whether for a moment or a long thrashing swim
is anything but pleasant
Epiphany VII
And we need healing from so many things in our lives. The very religious traditions that shape us are broken and sometimes do more harm than good. The institutions and the texts themselves stand in need of healing. The light of the Christ candle was taken symbolically to places in the sanctuary where those gathered could receive healing touch or light a candle to honor their own deep need or the needs of others. It is a standing invitation. . .
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Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter:
whoever finds one has found a treasure.
Faithful friends are beyond price;
no amount can balance their worth.
Epiphany V
my keyboard with some of the letters worn off Might as Well Face It I was talking to a friend recently about graduate school. He asked if I knew so-n-so. I said, “I’ll have to go home an look them…
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Prayer and Anxiety On Sunday morning I will teach six- seven- and eight-year-olds something about prayer. Or they may teach me. Later this week I’ll begin a two week intensive journey of learning together with a group of adults about…
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Last weekend I found myself at the Lorraine Motel. Memphis is a town haunted by racism, like most of the South. Like most of the US. It suffers from a legacy of pain and suffering. The cost has been so high for this struggle for justice.
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A Tale of Two Hawks Sitting on the cool concrete floor of a chapel in west Tennessee, I am stunned by the blue of the morning sky. Cold gray branches point their gnarling fingers skyward. An elegant soar of wingspan…
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Epiphany: A Season for Unsettling Questions On the Ninth Day of Christmas . . . I was feeling somewhat adrift. Needing some guidance, I decided to ask myself some questions. As a long-time journal keeper, I’ve found that sometimes questions…
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