It’s amazing to me the people I meet in my travels who all seem to complain about the same thing. The obligations in their lives that totally bring them down. “Oh, we’re going to see my uncle on Easter again this year. We always have such a miserable time but . . .” “Oh, …
Anne Lamott
Lessons from Jesus, Age 12
Excerpts from a sermon preached at Broadneck Baptist Church, Annapolis, MD from Luke 2:41-52 I don’t know if you’ve participated in the social media craze called, #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) when folks post pictures of themselves from years ago on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Though some simply post pictures from last Christmas or a fun …
Learning in Africa
Jambo (hello) from Kenya. For the past two weeks, I’ve found myself traveling in East Africa to participate in the work of Feed the Children. I’ve taken early morning flights. I’ve brushed my teeth with bottled water. I’ve visited primary schools. I’ve watched the sun set over the Indian Ocean. I’ve taken lots of pictures …
5 Ways to Improve Your Writing
I write a lot these days. I write here at Preacher on the Plaza. I write sermons (that I always don’t publish) for churches where I’m preaching. I write for the Feed the Children blog called BEYOND where we tell the stories of the good work of this humanitarian organization. And, I am a contracted ghost …
So This Is It
It’s been over one year now since I left traditional ministry. And folks say to me all the time, “When are you going back to the church?” I don’t know how to answer other than to say that we need to think about the church in new ways. Why do we always think about church …
When You’ve Just Got to Say Wow
This week I’ve been reading Anne Lamott’s latest: Help, Thanks, Wow. It’s a book about three essential prayers that Lamott says are necessary for all of us to go back to over and over again. Saying to God, “Help!” “Thanks!” and “Wow!” The first two sections were typical Anne Lamott good– honest, raw, and real. …
What if I’m Not Good Enough?
On my ongoing relationship with the part of myself I call “a writer” I think about a lot about things like this: –What is good dialogue and how to construct it authentically –What are strong verbs and how avoiding adverbs as much as possible. –What does life smell like and how to describe such without …
Things I’m Learning about Writing– February edition
Writing is a ministry. It’s ministry as much as as preaching or pastoral care or any other of the serving tasks. While in the parish I would often spend afternoons working on articles for publication or blogging. Sometimes I’d feel guilty as I typed away. Maybe I should have been visiting one more person? Maybe …
Things I’m Learning about Writing– February editionRead More
Waiting with Mary
Advent 2 Luke 1:39-56 Around mid-December, it’s so easy to want to rush on through, say Christmas is here, and let’s pack up the decorations, open up the gifts, eat another turkey and move on. I know for several of you who attended and participated in the choir concert yesterday—feel as though the joy of …
Ten FriendshipThoughts for Tuesday
1. Best piece of advice I ever got about becoming an adult was- “Make good friends and keep them.” I ran across this quote last week from Anne Lamott and posted it on Facebook. Seems to be appropriate to share here too: “It’s funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some …
Surprises in Grief
Yesterday I preached on I Samuel 15:34-16:13, and though I thought I would be writing a sermon about God’s unlikely choices this ended up being a sermon about grief. Surprised me for sure! I just couldn’t seem to get the “How long will you grief for Saul?” verse out of my mind as I prepared. So, I just went with …
When I Grow Up I Want to Be . . .
. . . a writer like Anne Lamott She recently said this about writing: “I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families, secrets, wonder, craziness — and that can make me laugh. When I am reading a book like …
