The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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The ancient patriarch Job felt all alone in his suffering. He said, “Oh, that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat (Job 23: 2)! I’ve heard people echo Job’s lament over the years. “Where is God when I need him?” or “God doesn’t hear my prayers!” or “What did I do to deserve this?” We’re human and forsakenness is a common emotion in our humanity. “Nobody knows the sorrow I’ve seen,” the old spiritual says. But we find an interesting take from the apologist C. S. Lewis...
It was a clear day in San Fransisco. Bay area rivals faced off in game 3 of the 1989 Baseball World Series pitting the Athletics against the Giants. ABC had just begun its pregame analysis with Al Michaels and Tim McCarver when cries of fear and terror erupted throughout Candlestick Park. What is now known as the World Series quake rocked the coast causing extensive damage and resulting in almost 4,000 injuries and 63 deaths. The Athletics went on to win the Series. But the aftershocks to the...
Karen Carpenter was the preeminent voice of the 70s. Along with her brother Richard she sold 160 million record albums. Karen sang love songs. “We’ve Only Just Begun” has been used at countless weddings over the years since she introduced it to the world. But in his book, “Little Girl Blue,” Randy L. Schmidt revealed that Karen Carpenter searched for love and never seemed to find it. Another of her songs is autobiographic: “I'll say goodbye to love / no one ever cared if I should live or die...
He was deacon chairman in the church when I became the pastor. I was young and impressionable, and he made an impression on me. I still quote Horace, though he's been in heaven for many years, when I jokingly refer to the Sunday worship guide as the "bullington" as he did. Horace had a sense of humor, but everyone knew he loved the Lord and his church. One day his wife Ruth told me the season of the year we were in at the time--summer--was particularly hard for Horace. I asked her what she...
We'll soon hear about the new president's "first 100 days." Writer Thurston Clarke published a history in 2013 not of the president’s first 100 days, but of his last 100 days. The president is John Kennedy and the book documents what JFK was doing day-by-day before the tragedy of Dallas. Clarke pulled together narratives from many sources and many cities. The reader feels a sense of dread as the days tick by and November 22 approaches. An intriguing aspect of this book is the initiatives Kennedy...
I traveled to a Tennessee prison last weekend to visit a cousin. My sister engineered our trip, and we picked up our cousin's brother en route and had a nice day, despite the major purpose of our excursion. I learned that other family members had been reluctant to go through the process of approval and to visit. I remembered once hearing a radio host fielding a call from a lady who'd distanced herself from relatives who had a family member in jail. "I don't want to be around them and I don't...
A former Nashville studio musician spoke to a group of church leaders in our city recently. He told us a little about his time in "Music City" and how decisions are made about what music to produce and sell. He said other than Bill Gaither's Homecoming music, the industry is producing only the so-called "praise and worship" music now. This music focuses on the majesty of God and is normally addressed to God the father or another member of the holy trinity. I say "so-called" praise and worship...
I heard about a presumably wealthy Texas cattle ranch owner who boasted about his holdings. When asked how he got such a big ranch, he replied that he bought up a bunch of smaller ranches and made them into one bigger ranch. He said he kept the names and made the new ranch a composite of them all. Thus he owned the "Lazy J Rolling S Mighty Texas Bar Seven Triple L Buffalo Nickel" cattle ranch. "Well, how many head of cattle do you own?" his friend asked. "Only seven," he replied. "I had a lot...
I went to the business office to get a purchase order for office supplies; I think it was a box of file folders or paper clips, and the attendant questioned me like I was Oliver Twist asking for more gruel! I felt anything like a professional. My face began to burn and I stepped outside before saying something I might regret. Most of us have been in similar situations and know the body language of anger. Our face flushes, our jaws tighten, our eyes become narrow slits and often our voices are...
I read the story in "The Christian Century" last spring. The author and her husband held three teacups in their hands after the husband's mother downsized and moved to a smaller apartment. The couple talked about which items to keep, if any, or whether they should keep all three in a home that was already full of things. The question they asked about each item was, "Does this item spark joy?" The writer said she got this concept from Marie Kondo who's written extensively about de-cluttering one'...
I vaguely remember the high school dating scene with multiple cases of “going steady” and break-ups. Some of these on-again, off-again relationships were hard to keep up with since they were on-again today and off-again tomorrow! Sometimes the break-up would be a note passed in class, or a tense telephone call. Break-ups were always hard to do, as Neil Sedaka used to sing. I heard on the news lately about a new break-up service for those too timid to do it themselves. For a fee the service will...
Canadian Army Lt. John McRae was in the line of defense that withstood the German assault in Belgium in 1915. The Germans resorted to chemical warfare using chlorine gas but the Canadians held fast. Later McRae officiated at a colleague's burial. In the ensuing days he noticed how quickly the poppies grew over the newly-dug graves. He wrote “In Flanders Fields” that became the national poem of Canada, and a loving tribute to all the dead in World War I. My mother had three brothers who ser...
An ABC tribute to Gilda Radner some time ago reminded me of the number of people we’ve lost in the last few years who made us laugh: John Belushi, John Candy, Phil Hartman, Bob Hope, Grady Nutt, Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Clower and others. Humor has great value. Solomon said laughter is medicine for the soul (Proverbs 17:22), and sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to have a good laugh. Lincoln, a man who suffered depression or "melancholia" as it was called in those days, talked a...
It was an unusual comment. He was with a group who came to our church to use our facilities for a civic event. I was fairly new at the church and he told me he went to a neighboring church. "We don't worship like you do," he said with a smile. I got the impression he was making a judgment about our worship. His comment, however, reminded me that every church I've known worships differently. Every church is a unique mix of folks with unique social and denominational traditions. I've been to a...
Every year, there is always change that comes to each sports team. Some of the times, coaching changes are made for the better or for the worst. The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers are no strangers to coaching coaches. For these heavy rivals, there are huge similar coaching changes that have transpired so far in the 2016 offseason. Defensive Coordinator Kirby Smart left Alabama to be the head coach at Eastern Divisional rival the Georgia Bulldogs. Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp left Auburn to be the head coach at Eastern Divisio...
I must admit I found it just as addictive as I'd been told. When I began watching "Making A Murderer," I could hardly stop until I'd digested all ten hours. The series tells the story of Steven Avery of Manitowoc, Wisconsin who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit. A single strand of hair provided enough DNA evidence to exonerate him. He proceeded to file a lawsuit against those who prosecuted him and suddenly found himself accused of another murder. Avery's mentally-challenged...
I'm convinced the greatest detriment to faith is the problem of pain. "Why do the righteous suffer?" is a question as old as the book of Job. And it still befuddles serious-minded people who consider faith. The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians about his "thorn." We think of a thorn as a slight irritation easily removed with fingers or tweezers. But New Testament scholar William Barclay argued that the word can also mean "stake." It was common to impale one's enemies or criminals in the Roman...
Christmas is past, and the new year is upon us. And what a year 2016 promises to be. A year of challenge. And opportunity. Every new year’s sunrise represents the dawning of fresh opportunity. Have you compiled your list of resolutions yet? Almost half of American adults make resolutions. We commonly vow to lose weight, stop smoking, get better organized and keep better financial records. But consider a few more possible resolutions for the new year. (1) Go on a TV diet. Turn off the t...
It was a modest motion picture released in 1983 without much anticipation that it would be a block-buster, but the star won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe award for best actor the following year. In "Tender Mercies," Robert Duvall played Mac Sledge, a washed -up country and western singer ruined by alcohol. Sledge found a new family when he married a widow, Rosa, played by Tess Harper, and new faith when he was baptized at the local church. He also reached out to his long-lost...
In the State of Alabama, football is the most dominant sport. Most male high school athletes go to play collegiate football. Once in a while, a player will come from no where and achieve a high level of success where he will play for a top basketball collegiate program. Then he will proceed to the NBA where he will considered one of the best in the world. There are three players from of Alabama that have done so and are hoping to make a name for themselves for the upcoming 2015-2016 NBA season. Those players are starting Sacramento Kings Center...
Teachers take care to include every conceivable guideline in the class syllabus. I suppose years ago syllabuses used to cover pulling a girl's pigtails and chewing gum, but these days other issues are addressed. At one school we carried on a running dialogue about cell phones. Some teachers thought they should be banned outright from the classroom and others thought this was a losing battle, especially when students could quickly look up a fact or a date if the teacher needed help. And it's impo...
In sports, there are always times when a player can get sidelined by a situation that they can not control, like an injury. There are also times when players get sidelined for reasons beyond sports. That is what happened to star Kansas City Chiefs Safety and former Tennessee star, Eric Berry. His NFL career was almost ended prematurely. After suffering from a high ankle sprain in the 2nd week of the 2014 season, Berry played four more games starting on November 2nd against the New York Jets....
Bob Harrington, the former "Chaplain of Bourbon Street," preached one night and advertised his sermon title in the local newspaper: "Three Places Where There's No Problem With Racism." This was in the civil rights era and our nation was fixated on this problem. Hundreds came that night to hear Harrington. He touched on his announced theme only in the first paragraph of his sermon: "The three places where there's no problem with racism are heaven, hell, and the heart of a Christian." Then Harring...
I was probably the only one sitting in Sunday School yesterday thinking of Charles Manson. Manson was the crazed cult leader who directed two terrible mass murders in 1969. I read Vincent Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter" years ago, and the author explained how Manson used the Bible to brainwash his followers. Our scripture yesterday was Revelation 9. John wrote about scorpions who torment the ungodly in the days of God's wrath. It's scary stuff. Manson had a unique interpretation according to...
Abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher brought an arm-load of chains and manacles to the pulpit one Sunday. He threw them to the floor and the sound reverberated throughout the auditorium. "God have mercy on a nation that puts men and women in the chains of slavery," he thundered. Another memorable visual occurred in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah stood before the leaders of Judah and smashed a clay vessel into hundreds of pieces. "Thus says the Lord," he thundered. "Judgment is coming and the...
