Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

It isn’t easy reading the news. It isn’t easy to sit down at a table with a mixed group of people. It isn’t easy to share things on social media. The reason? Because politics seasons all of these. And sometimes, the seasoning is off putting. Have you ever put salt in a dish when sugar was called for? That is how some conversations go these days. I think it is time to make some declarations about my politics. One, so others can judge me by my own position. Two, so I can look back on this and see development and change. Three, just so I can get a few things off my chest. I don’t affiliate with a single political party or platform. Republicans and Democrats can’t agree within their own party on what they think is important. The two party system has limited the true freedom of expression and a realistic representation of all people in this nation. We are convinced that these two parties are the only “real” way government can be run. Strangely, the two we have are not the two we ha...

This is my opinion and reflection on something that I made a commitment to. In May of 2002, I stood before the Bishop of the Oklahoma Annual Conference and the gathered members and family. In that particular worship service, I made a vow to uphold the itinerant system. As part of our polity and discipline, I understood that being an Elder in the United Methodist Church meant I would make myself available to the system of providing pastoral leadership and support to local churches. That came with the understanding that I would move throughout my career at the call of the Bishop through the District Superintendent. It also meant that my life and choice were somewhat limited to the desires of others. 16 years later (my 20 th year of ministry), I am reflecting upon my current position within that system I vowed to uphold. It has been a bumpy ride from a personal point of view. I have had circumstances that were directly related to my appointments that have changed my feelings and ...

I am not ashamed to admit that I absolutely LOVE the movie The Greatest Showman. The soundtrack sold me on this movie. I wake up every morning with a different song from the soundtrack playing in my head. The music is catchy and somewhat addictive (for me at least). If there is one song that I come back to over and again, played as loud as possible, it is This Is Me. It is performed by Keala Settle. I had not heard of her before this movie. She performs this song as the anthem of the story. The Greatest Showman is about P.T. Barnum and the beginning of his famous circus. It started out as a freakshow, according to the movie. Barnum collected those whom "polite" society regarded as freaks, oddities, and cast them out. Barnum offers them the chance to be something more. In This Is Me, the Bearded Lady (Settle) is confronted with that polite society as she sings about the life that she and her fellow circus attractions claim for their own. This song hit me hard. It came ...

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.  We have the technology.  We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man.  Steve Austin will be that man.  Better than he was before.  Better... stronger... faster A kid in the '70's knew this intro. The Six Million Dollar Man was part spy, part superhero, completely coolest dude on the planet. If you see the pilot (cause I doubt many people actually remember it), Steve Austin spins out of control in a test vehicle. Upon impact with the ground, he is broken and left hanging on the edge of life and death. But thanks to science, technology, and 6 million dollars, he is rebuilt from the brokenness and improved upon with bionic, the interfacing of flesh and machine, parts.  In October I had a nervous breakdown. There is a lot of negative aura around that phrase. Wikipedia defines it as:  A mental breakdown (also known as a nervous breakdown ) is an acute, time-limited mental disor...

October 1, 2017 I preached a sermon that concluded my series on Sharing Your Faith Story. The final sermon was Living a True Story. It is about the final step in sharing with another person the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. The point was that if we are saying that Jesus Christ is lord of our life and all things are centered in him, and we have a  hope that gets us beyond the difficulties of life, then our living must bear that out. How we live, our behavior, matters in telling and sharing our faith story. Due to emotional issues that came to a head, the sermon and the response to the sermon got beyond my control. There were some issues that developed. There were some emotional burdens that I took upon myself that weren't necessarily mine to bear. And I wrecked my soul. I am working to be better now. But I still stand by the sermon. I stand by its word as prophetic and Holy Spirit inspired. It is not easy to hear. It is easier to read. So I am presenting bo...

Some random musings to get me back in the habit. Random musing #1 I love jelly beans. It is one of four foods that if they are in my life, I can't stop eating them. Luckily, jelly beans come around once a year for me. I know that there are "gourmet" jelly beans available all year round. The jelly beans that I eat uncontrollably are the non-gourmet. And usually, the cheap ones. They are the ones that have been popular fodder for Easter baskets going back to my childhood. They are gelled sugar coated in a harder sugar shell with some flavoring added. I love those the best. Don't get me wrong about gourmet jelly beans. I enjoy those. But for the old standard Easter jelly bean, I can't control myself when eating them. And Lisa bought me two bags of them. They sit on my desk, taunting and tempting me. One bag has been opened. But I have shown restraint. I only allow myself a few. It is driving me crazy. Random musing #2 We enrolled Nick in college Friday. He ...

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and so begins the Lenten Season. Lent is the season that leads us into Easter. For more Traditional faith pursuers, Lent is a season of penitence, self-denial, and preparation for the Easter event. Historically, this was the period of intense focus for initiates into the Christian faith. For non-Traditional pursuers, this is a time when we "give something up". This year, I am in a place I have not been before. I am facing a period of health issues that have not ever been a problem before. Specifically, I am facing my second surgery in 6 months. All signs point to the need that I have back surgery and soon. I am not afraid of the surgery. That may be because I am too stupid to be afraid. There are complications pre-/mid-/post-surgery that could impact my life. That is not far from my thinking. But of these things, I fear not. What I am afraid of is the dependence that this surgery will require. I view myself as a "do-it-myself" typ...

Sorry for the lag in writing. For the major portion of this week, I have been either flat on my back or seeking correction for what put me on my back. Monday, I experienced a severe pain in my lower back. It forced me to remain very still or I would experience sharp pains. I have since learned that it is two bulging discs in my lower lumbar region. This was discovered after a trip to the emergency room, a 6 hour round trip to get an MRI, and a lot of sitting, waiting, and stewing over the pace at which modern medicine progresses. I am considerably better now. I can sit up, walk around, bend down (over is still not a good idea), and do the same things I was before, only slower. Part of the slowing was being on pain medications and muscle relaxers to ease the stress on my back. That led to some very fuzzy thinking processes. But I am on the mend. And will resume writing next week. If all goes well this weekend. Stay tuned.

What makes you happy? I have a lot of things that make me happy. My children doing something that is funny or self-less or being good at what they do. My wife laughing or singing or living into her greater self. Figuring out a complex issue. Playing through a session of Dungeons and Dragons. Comic books, an new action figure, or finding a movie on television or Netflix that takes me back to a younger point in my life. Do you know what makes me unhappy? Those same things. I don't mean the things that are in that list. I mean that my children, wife, a complex issue, a session of Dungeons and Dragons, comic books, figures, and television are just as capable of making me unhappy. They are just as likely to flip the happiness switch either way. Happiness is fickle. Happiness depends upon circumstances that change. Some times rapidly. Yesterday I was cruising about the internet and found a number of articles that focused on being happy and the pursuit of it. I feel that p...

I am sitting here working through the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. It is the foundation for my sermon Sunday. I am cruising along doing some work in Greek (yes, I still have a little functionality in the language). I am working down through some alternate translations to squeak out subtle meaning that is lost in the rote recitation we sometimes fall into. There is some interesting things for study and preaching. The one thing that is stopping me to write this is one little word: epiousios. The familiar phrase is "give us this day our daily bread". Every word in that phrase is common and easily understood except for epiousios - daily. All my life I have visualized and understood this phrase to mean that God is providential to the level of taking care of our daily needs. And it is a refreshing thought to know that our creating God is also compassionate toward our insignificant needs of daily providing. That is the kind of God we have. The word, though, is strange. It app...

I didn't write yesterday. And I forgive myself. I sat here and started to write something about the beginning of Trump's presidency and where I am with that. But I wasn't feeling it. I couldn't inject (or eject) the emotional energy to make something appear. But I forgive myself for not getting that done. It wasn't really a horrible failure. I accomplished other things that were appropriate to the bigger picture. I am going to attempt to process my view of the Trump presidency. This is not an opinion piece. It is the attempt to form an opinion. I am not sure of anything at this stage of forming an opinion. This is the content of an email I wrote to a trusted friend. I was asking his help in working through these thoughts. I share them here, with some expanded thoughts, as part of my processing. I am trying to process the transfer of power. One thing that I notice about the method of how we move from one leader to another is relatively easy compared to some...

Last night I experienced something that was either barbecue gone bad or a minor anxiety attack. Whatever the cause, I was afraid. I won't bother with the focus of the fear, because that is not important to this expression of thought. I will say that I know that anxiety and fear were a part of it because it was the same emotions I experienced during my faux-heart attack spell with my gallbladder. Same emotions and feelings. And I hate it. I have some fears that I am very up front about. I am afraid of water. This is an old fear. It dates back to when I was a kid. I remember the moment it began. We were at a lake. A family friend was carrying me on his shoulders. And then he dunked us in the water. I got a snout full of water and started choking. It shocked me. And to this day, water still causes problems for me. If I am in a body of water and it splashes me in the face, I experience panic symptoms. If I stay in the shower too long or am having a particular type of day, the water...