Duct Tape, Gated Communities and Neurosurgeons

Those days at MD Anderson remain a blur. It was a milestone moment for all of us. But, strangely enough, it was a preacher writing a newspaper column that helped maintain perspective.   Over a period of three days, she went from her normal, vivacious self to...

I Hate War

There is a fine line between just and unjust war. And there is a fine line between hating what war can do and loving those scarred by it. That line deserves our attention.  This is from October 2010.  Back then there were only four contributors to FaithMatters so my...

Pastor Ponders Pounds

A year after this was written I began my fitness journey.  In the ten years between August 2011 and 2021 I’ve lost 30 pounds and gotten stronger.     According to the B.M.I. from the C.D.C. I am F.A.T. Translation? The Center for Disease Control has a chart...

I Love You

This column was from June 2010.  This week, eleven years later, I am dropping my twins off at college.  Its strange for me to be moved so much by something I wrote.   It was Father’s Day 1978. My sisters and I went to church with my dad and his new wife. The...

W.W.J.R. — What would Jesus Rent?

In some states, including Arkansas, tenant law highly favors the property owners.  There is plenty of room for advocacy for those who rent substandard and unsafe properties.  From May 2010.   My pastoral efforts take me to some interesting places – jails,...

The TV Can’t Hold Your Hand

From March 2010. It is human nature to look for shortcuts.  We are an ingenious species.  And it is no surprise that as Westerners we are prone to throw money at problems.  But, as in the case of the man ‘lame from birth’ in Acts 3, healing is not offered for money –...