News & Articles
Golf
I find it both odd and fascinating how sports can, at times, stir feelings akin to the sacred, even a sense of the holy. One of my first experiences of awe while engaged in a sport happened when I was a grad student in Scotland, the country most associated with the beginnings…
Forgiveness This Season
Although the parable of the prodigal son is one of Jesus’ most beloved stories, the story isn’t normally linked with the season of Easter. Yet this year, I realized there is an important connection. To refresh our memories, the parable of the prodigal son is the story of a father with two sons. The younger…
Inspiration
Nearly twenty years ago, I discovered the Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. That led to my buying two of his LPs, which I enjoyed until my turntable stopped turning. Then I simply forgot him. Over this past year, however, I stumbled upon the numerous recordings of Paco de Lucia that are available…
Scriptures
In a well-needed attack on the clutter in our attic, my wife found a box of memorabilia that my parents must have given me when they cleaned out their own house. I am sure that I hadn’t opened this box for nearly fifty years. In the box was the first Bible that I was given…
This is Our War Too
Ukraine might seem far away from central Indiana, so when Putin’s war began, we could, if we wanted, ignore the tragedy that has fallen on that country. But no one who has filled up at a gas station or shopped in a grocery store in the last weeks can ignore the connection that exists between…
Holding On To Our Humanity
In Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, we are watching someone act like one of Russia’s czars from the past. One of those czars, Ivan, was even known as “The Terrible,” a title that Putin has now earned. The fatal flaw of all dictators is that they surround themselves with sycophants, “yes men” and “yes women” who…