Posts on General

Caught in the Draft: Grace and the Chosen People

May 2, 2015 4:27 pm

My worst moment growing up? It happened regularly in fact, almost every summer afternoon: picking teams for a sandlot baseball game. You know what I mean. Forget being the captain making the choices, you just wanted to make sure you weren’t the last one selected for a team. There you stand, glove in hand, looking down at the ground like your dog just died and hoping your name will be the next one called instead of the the last one. In my dreams, I was the number one pick in the NFL Draft, or sank the winning basket for IU... Read this post

Hey Christ Community Church, Just Who Do You Think You Are?

May 2, 2015 4:46 am

Hey Christ Community Church, Just Who Do You Think You Are?   I was once asked by a person what kind of church I attended. “A loving one” seemed the best response, especially given that Jesus said it was by our love one for the other that the world would recognize us as his followers. Still, what love looks like begs for some more detail. John the Baptist was asked, “Who are you? What do you say about yourself?” The people asking him had their own ideas about how to answer the questions, but the prophet ultimately established his identity... Read this post

Best Seat in the House

April 29, 2015 3:56 pm

Best Seat in the House One of my new joys in life is The Ryman, the beautiful and historic Mother Church of Country Music where I savored the richly textured jazz sounds of Diana Krall this past week. Ryman magic is not news to those of you who’ve called Greater Nashville ‘home’ for many years, but for the newbies its discovery is right up there with a first kiss. While I’ve only been to a few events there so far, I know it’s a place where I’m going to spend a lot of happy hours over the next several years.... Read this post

Alimentary Theology

April 21, 2015 2:47 pm

Alimentary Theology Food, Faith, and the Feast of the King 2 Samuel 9; Psalm 78:25 April 21, 2015 “Cooking is the oldest of all arts: Adam was born hungry, and every new child… utters cries which only his mother’s breast can quiet.” Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin “Centuries of secularism have failed to transform eating into something strictly utilitarian. Food is still treated with reverence…To eat is still something more than to maintain bodily functions. People may not understand what that ‘something more’ is, but they nonetheless desire to celebrate it. They are still hungry and thirsty for sacramental life.” ―... Read this post

Happy Home Hunting

April 12, 2015 10:12 pm

Across Williamson County “For Sale” signs are sprouting like dandelions as home sellers hope to cash in on a white hot market, and home buyers hope to find the new and perfect place to pursue their dreams. Can there be anything more fun than shopping for a new home? I’m kidding, of course. It’s a perfectly dreadful experience, right there with trying to sell your house. And electric shock therapy. House listings are like first dates, good impressions being the main objective which makes Real Estate listings the bricks and mortar version of Match.com. Whether or not a ‘second date’... Read this post

Buzzers, Brackets, and Prophets

March 22, 2015 1:21 am

Like millions of Americans I’ve filled out my NCAA Tourney brackets for March Madness. That’s ‘brackets’ plural because I like to give myself as many chances as possible to look like an expert. Oh, and a chance at millions of dollars too. Warren Buffett has offered a massive payday for anyone who can successfully predict the outcome of each game. Even the Microsoft Bing brain has a bracket filled out! Well, I can humbly report that my ability to predict the outcome of these games is less than stellar. Oh sure, I still have a shot at the Final Four... Read this post

The Reason to Celebrate St. Patrick

March 15, 2015 1:27 am

With ‘Patrick’ for a middle name it only makes sense that I have some celebrations planned for later this week. St. Patrick is indeed a man worthy of celebrating, whether with a pint of green beer, a shamrock or three pinned to one’s hat, or a jig and a song. ‘Tis a great day to be sure, a day for parades and parties and prayers – and not a few broken Lenten fasts! But where did we get this celebration and what’s really true about St.Patrick? To begin with, we should remember that St Patrick was not Irish… he was... Read this post

Is Your Legacy Etched in the Minds of Others?

March 8, 2015 1:30 am

While I’ve had family in Franklin for a quarter of a century and I’ve been visiting here long enough to remember when the only thing at I­-65 and Murfreesboro Road was Shoney’s and the long­gone Uncle Bud’s fried chicken place, I’m still a newcomer. ‘Home’ is a word I’ve employed to describe Franklin only since May of last year. Thank you for forgiving my intrusion. When you’re new, you get delightfully lost on purpose, heading down roads for no other reason than they look inviting, stepping into shops not so much to make a purchase as to create a mental... Read this post