A Word About Mentors I had a phone conversation the other day with someone I’ve known and respected for a long time. When I hung up the phone, I sat for several moments thinking about that conversation, and how much I appreciated the time and friendship my ‘mentor’ friend had invested in me over my…
A Word About Writing I read something about writing the other day I could hardly believe, concerning a man named Mr. Surendra Kumar. He lives in the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, and he has a very unique talent. He is a writer. That wouldn’t necessarily qualify him as an out-of-the-ordinary person,…
A Word About Elephants A couple of years ago, my wife and I made a trip to Thailand. It was our first time to visit that part of the world, and we loved the beauty of that small country, the culture, the food. I was teaching missionary doctors who had gathered for a time of…
I’m determined, this time. I was determined last time, too. But this time, I’m really determined. I have a new eating and lifestyle plan that I am committed to following, not for a few months or a year or two, but for the rest of my life. I’ve got a specific weight loss goal, some…
While I was in my peaceful office this morning, minding my own business, thinking hard and then trying to write down what I was thinking for an upcoming Classic State of Mind segment, the electricity in our building suddenly went off. My internet stopped. My monitor went dead. The lights in my office, the lights…
As a pastor, on Sunday mornings I often greet folks as the service begins, with a rhetorical question: ‘How was your week?’ Of course, when you ask a question like that of a large gathering of people, you’re not expecting all of them to answer in a way you can actually understand. It’s just a…
Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Matt. 5 and what we call The Sermon on the Mount begins this way: “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.” The…
In my younger years, I served with an older and more experienced pastor who once said something that stuck with me. He said, “I think one of the most creative things God ever made was a human face.” I am inclined to agree with him. For the past several years, Dr. Edward Tronick, at the…
It’s a habit of mine to pray for people I love, at the end of every day. I’m sure many believers do the same. Before my eyes close in sleep every night, I do my best to recount in my mind the names and faces of all my children, my grandchildren, other family members, loved…
I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve needed to be rescued? I stepped off a curb once, and my best friend grabbed my shirt and pulled me back out of traffic because I was about to be hit by a car I didn’t see coming. And once, when I was about 11…