My first memories of my oldest brother do not center on his presence, but on his pictures. My parents first born, Jimmy, as he is known to all of us, is a professional photographer. By the time I came along, my brother had left the homestead and was embarking on new adventures in California, of … Continue reading My elder brother was a prodigal son. →

Occasionally in the teaching profession students will find away to say thank you. I know this was true for me growing up. Now that the roles are reversed, and I'm the teacher, it is nice to receive words of affirmations. The following was penned by my student Donald Garrison and appeared in Oklahoma Baptist University's … Continue reading I made the paper… →

Recently I had the opportunity to share with my friend Sydney about the changing nature of my faith in Christ. It is challenging to be transparent about such a personal issue as faith, but I give it a shot here. I'm sure there is still much to change in me, and I'm sure there is … Continue reading Faith that is still growing →

“Give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth,” observed Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, and after watching the latest iteration of the iconic dark detective superhero in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, I certainly agree. I found the film exceeded my expectations, especially since I wasn’t initially impressed with the casting … Continue reading What is disguised but never lies? Lessons from The Batman. →

The past six months have been difficult for our extended family, as many loved ones have died. Most recently my cousin Michael. My heart is saddened at yet another loss and I know that his family is grieving as he was loved by his wife, daughters, sisters and all of us. This season of loss … Continue reading More than a bus driver →

Trayvon Martin's hoodie with a bullet hole through the heart is now displayed in the African American History Museum. This is a reminder of the tragic death of a promising young man some ten years ago, because someone thought him not worthy to walk through a specific neighborhood. In the ten years since his death, … Continue reading Hoodie with a hole in the heart: Trayvon Martin Ten Years Later. →

I was struck today while rereading the parable of the lost sheep, that traditional notions of evangelism in the modern iterations of Christianity often get the concept wrong. If you are unfamiliar with the story Jesus tells in Luke 15, here it is in the language of Eugene Peterson's The Message with the context of … Continue reading The “Ninety-nine” doesn’t exist →

“Old King Cole was a merry old soul,And a merry old soul was he;He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl,And he called for his fiddlers three.Every fiddler he had a fiddle,And a very fine fiddle had he;Oh there's none so rare, as can compare,With King Cole and his fiddlers three.” In … Continue reading The King’s Herald. →

As someone who has attempted stand up comedy and is always looking at the intersections of faith and culture, Stephen Colbert's response to Dua Lipa is a beautiful example of how our faith should be woven into the textures of life. Lipa inquired as to how comedy and faith overlap to which Colbert responded, “So, … Continue reading The Native Language of Heaven →

Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated Of dead and living. Not the intense moment  Isolated, with no before and after, But a lifetime burning in every moment And not the lifetime of one man only But of old stones that cannot be deciphered. … Continue reading Attempting to decipher old stones… →