As we gathered together yesterday for our BWIM SC Vespers service and to celebrate CBF SC General Assembly, I wondered if the other ministers gathered were burning low. Advent and Lent were very close together this year. Easter was early and it was one of the worst flu seasons in years. My colleagues were visiting […]
This December, I have been immersing myself in local authors. Most of these authors have written and recorded what it was like to grow up in a mill village. I didn’t know my hometown was so centered around mill life until I started working as a second-grade teacher. My principal took the time to take
As we worshiped together during the first Sunday of Advent yesterday, I shared with my congregation how difficult it sometimes is to manage the expectations of what this season is supposed to be. This is the season of love, joy, hope, and peace and we are expected to eagerly await the coming of the Christ
Expectation, Anticipation, and Revelation Read More »
In light of the allegations of sexual misconduct by famed Today show host Matt Lauer and long renowned voice actor, Garrison Keller, apocalypse language has entered into more and more news reports. People are beginning to understand the vast and pervasive nature of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and sexual assault. This does not occur in
A Day of Reckoning and Sexual Harassment Read More »
I’ve heard the cries of some U.S. evangelicals claiming that they are in the midst of persecution. I don’t pretend to know exactly what another person is going through, but I wonder if perhaps what they are experiencing is not persecution but accountability. There is not one of us who revels in being held accountable for
The Difference Between Persecution and Accountability Read More »
Sexual harassment lives in systems like workplaces, family, and communities of faith because systems always aim to keep homeostasis or a place of stable equilibrium. If there is something that threatens that stability or equilibrium by asking for changes, a system resists those changes. It’s why in systems like families, workplaces, or communities of faith, it is common
That’s not “just John Doe.” That’s Sexual Harassment. Read More »
I was filling my car up with gas, when I heard a car drive by. The male driver yelled, “Hey, hey can I take a pretty Mama to lunch?” My back was to the car as it drove by, so I didn’t turn around. I was worn down. I didn’t have the energy to face
That’s Not a Joke, That’s Sexual Harassment Read More »
Yesterday as I was running errands back and forth across Columbia, I encountered five different drivers over the course of the afternoon who pulled a U-turn or three-point turn across a double line. I don’t mean they went up to a stoplight and turned around. I mean they pulled across a five-lane highway in one
When We Change the Rules Read More »
Part of our morning routine includes singing: This is the day, this is the day. That the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be
This is the Day the Lord has Made? Read More »
I didn’t sit outside today at the coffee shop, but rather at the point in the store where customers pick up their drink. I see the barista behind the counter working hard trying to keep up with the influx of Friday morning orders. I see him trying to smile as not one, but one after
A Culture of Complaint Read More »
