THE EMPTY PULPIT

Mark the Lutheran and I got a wild idea years ago while eating pizza at Double Dave's in Tyler, Texas. Across from my conservative Churc...

Easter weekend is the ultimate reminder that we do not have to be afraid. The world continues to manufacture truth to suit its own needs,...

Death and I have become friends through the years. Not friends in the sense that we enjoy spending time together. Oh, sure, she flirts with ...

"And then one day you find   Ten years have got behind you..." Forgive me, bloggerland, for I have sinned; It's been six y...

Dear Blog, It's been a month since my last confession. For the second time, I am stepping away from you for a while. You served me well,...

I crammed myself into the storage space behind the two seats of a Nissan 280ZX back when people still called them Datsuns. It was the summer...

"Every century a few individuals are born who are destined to lead the weak, to hold unpopular beliefs and, most important, who are wil...

An Opening Word Good times, bad times. Whether religion, politics, economics, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both....

A lot of religious people are wonderful. Across the board. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, pick your favorite flavor. That probably sounds funn...

A lot of religious people are kooks. Across the board. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, pick your favorite flavor. That probably sounds funny co...

When a gargoyle taps your thumb at 70 miles an hour, it's hard to ignore. For my birthday last week, my 11 year old daughter gave me a g...

My dad turned 14 a few days before the Beatles crossed the pond to play Ed Sullivan. I was at dad's house a few days ago as my vacation ...

If some seasons of the year cook the food at convection oven speed, early summer is like a crock pot. People you usually see suddenly fall o...

I shifted down into fifth and pushed the handlebars slightly to the right, leaning into the turn as we exited off I-10 in Winnie, TX. Someon...

“The ancient masters slept without dreams and woke up without worries. Their food was plain. Their breath came from deep inside them. They...

Unless we church-types take seriously the call to engage all people unconditionally, no matter what they look like or how they dress, then w...

I thought Sammy was the coolest guy I knew. He lived next door to me from the time I was three until I was eight. He and his wife Candy gree...

"A wiser fella than myself once said, 'Sometimes you eat the bar... sometimes the bar... why... he eats you.'" - The Stra...

I like yelling at cars. Something cathartic happens when I talk to vehicles and say things out loud like, "Sometime today" or ...

I can see the big four-oh peeking at me from around the corner, giggling, smirking, ready to tease me. Little does it know that I am happier...

Easter Sunday morning, just days ago. Then Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Each of the four mornings was filled with sleep until the sound of th...

I have been with Jesus in this garden before. Early on Friday morning. I have prayed on Friday morning in years past that God will remove a ...

I have longed for the presence of God as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I knew God was there. I just did not know where to look. B...

I was four or five years old when my Papaw put me on the back of his motorcycle and spun me around the ranch where he was foreman. Papaw was...