Forty Autumns, the story of East Germany and Germans inside and out of that dystopian regime is worth the read. It illustrates why the most effective way of undermining an Iron Curtain is not an effective way for spreading the Gospel. The ubiquity of Zoom services and Facebook streaming not withstanding.
Continue readingRecently my congregation stopped funding a local prolife pregnancy center because they provide birth control to the unmarried. When I told this to the center this is how they responded:
Continue readingThat’s the title I saved this under in 2011. I think this is the writing of his I am referencing https://steadfastlutherans.org/2011/03/acelc-conference-the-divine-service-and-daily-offices-by-rev-rick-sawyer/ . As always from the original Seelsorger of the web, good stuff.
Continue readingIn the category of truth is stranger in fiction, we find that Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mocking Bird, and author and gadfly Truman Capote grew up together.
Continue readingNo, not the Pope but Alexander Pope, the turn of the 18th century English poet who some consider better than the Bard. He told us how we would come to embrace LGBTQ. And boy have we.
Continue readingI had to look this word up when I first read it. Uxoriousness means to be “excessively fond of or submissive to a wife”. It’s from the Latin for wife uxor (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uxorious ). In his 1999 book The Church Impotent, Roman Catholic scholar Leon Podles observes: “Not tyranny, but uxoriousness, is the chief danger of patriarchy” (73).
Continue readingWho knew that this saying is no older than 1976 and comes from Texas Tech sport’s information director, Ralph Carpenter, when the Aggies tied the Red Raiders in the conference finals? The actual quote is: “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.” (Based on my research, I think the jury is still out as to where, when, and who first said this.)
Continue readingThis visit to Gateway was to the mother ‘church’ of the Austin area, Gateway North. My wife’s initial impression as we’re walking to the car: “I don’t know why this week I came away depressed while last week I didn’t.” Then as we’re driving away she worked her way to why: It was all works. Bingo. And works that you could do.
Continue readingGatewaychurch.com says of itself: “Gateway is a COME AS YOU ARE kind of church – a community of imperfect people doing life together, helping each other become all that God created us to be. Whether you’ve had a relationship with God for years or you’re not even sure God exists, come as you are. Bring your questions, doubts, fears, and hurts – but as we say, NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED — because pretending just keeps us stuck” (https://www.gatewaychurch.com/new-here/new-to-gateway/getting-started/). They have 5 Austin area locations and one in Branson, Missouri. They are indeed a gateway, but to what?
Continue readingI’m breaking my 10-year rule. This blog is not quite 9-years-old, so I’m repeating myself rather than citing. In a discussion over the recent shooting, I was reminded that I wrote something after Sandy Hook. Actually, I wrote right after a senseless shooting in Oklahoma. It’s worth another read.
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