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The Monday afternoon conversation went downhill fast. “How’s your week starting out Bill?” asked a friend. “I’m overwhelmed already,” I replied. Some weeks are like this. Every Monday morning, I plan my next two weeks of life. I review my calendar, check my priorities, and make my “to do” list — who to email, people to call, tasks to complete, people to see. Writing it down helps me remember. But, this list can overwhelm. Sometimes I feel I’m living in a whirlwind of activities. Jesus…

The meeting had ended. I didn’t lead the meeting; I was a participant like the others around the table. As we gathered to leave, the leader gave me a compliment. “Bill, do you realize that you led that meeting by the questions you asked?” he said. I had no intention of leading the meeting. I had no desire to set or control the agenda. I was just curious about the issues. My curiosity prompted a lot of questions. The leader’s observation was a compliment and…

The first time I had the conversation I was a little surprised. September was like a starter’s gun when I ministered to graduate students. School’s start-up was the time to meet in-coming students. Our ministry team would set up a booth at the university’s welcoming events to meet, greet, and engage these eager young professionals in conversation. A conversation with a male student from Virginia was the first time it happened. When discussing his faith background, he made this statement: “I’ve thought about becoming a…

This is a summer of discontent. We’re experiencing street protests, a divisive election, and the cloud of a pandemic. I say it’s time for a little fun, some whimsy, and a shot of innovation! For our whimsy and innovation boost, let’s return to 1964. It’s Sunday night, February 9, 1964. An entire nation is glued to a Sunday evening television show and I’m no exception. Seventy-three million people are watching one show that night — setting a viewing record. It was reported that crime dropped…

Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out . . . Proverbs 1:20-21 The noise in our streets is deafening. Daily it seems that another stature or monument is toppled. I have mixed feelings about this. No one likes public destruction. However, the protests pose an uncomfortable question, “What are we honoring through a monument?” In some cases, the statues honored individuals who promoted and supported slavery and segregation. How…

The Grey Hound bus was packed with rowdy high school students. My senior class was going to Washington D.C. Our rural school was off to the big city. I dozed through most of the first day’s sight-seeing. That night, we hung out at the motel, watched tv, and played pranks on the girls. Hey, we were seniors away from home. When we woke the next morning, the world had changed. Martin Luther King had been assassinated the day before, April 4, 1968. We woke up…

I’m a collector of vinyl records. I gave up buying CDs several years ago. There’s a fullness of sound on vinyl that is not replicated on a CD. This quality of sound, though, has some draw backs. My stereo system picks up all the dust and scratches that accumulates on vinyl records. Sometimes the scratch is so deep the needle gets stuck and the same sound or note is played over and over again. What an annoyance! Words can be like stuck records. Some words…

“Stomp!” read a neighbors’ chalk drawing. Nate is an art teacher at a local high school. He drew a replica of the corona virus on the street and invited people walking by to “stomp!” on the virus. So I did! And it felt good. I know that stomping on a chalk drawing is not going to stop the pandemic. This fun act takes off some of the edge of being “self-isolated.” Nearly three months in the same house is pretty confining. Stomping on the virus…