Author Archives: reallifepastor

Have you seen the video of the toddler who hears his mother’s voice for the first time?  Born deaf, the boy receives cochlear implants.  The camera catches his expression when, sitting on his mother’s lap, he hears her voice for … Continue reading →

The prophet speaks to a demoralized people.  For 400 years, the Judahites had ruled themselves…then the Babylonians show up and make mincemeat of little old Judah.  Suddenly, people who considered themselves God’s chosen ones have lost their sovereignty, their land, … Continue reading →

This parable has always unnerved me.  Ten bridesmaids await the groom.  Five have oil for their lamps; five don’t.  The bridegroom is delayed; the bridesmaids fall asleep.  At midnight, there’s a shout:  “Look!  The bridegroom!  Come meet him.”  All ten … Continue reading →

I got called up for jury duty this week.  I do love these civic processes–voting, working the polls, responding to a jury summons.  It reminds me that I’m part of a larger whole—often, with people who are quite different from … Continue reading →

            Anybody tired of campaign ads yet?  Every year when the ads begin, I’m hopeful.  The first ads name the issues and explain how candidates plan to address them.  Then somebody’s poll numbers slip and–they’ll tell an interviewer– “I didn’t … Continue reading →

Today’s passage from Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul in the 1st c.  Like most of Paul’s letters, this one addresses a key topic for Paul:  how to do Christian community well. In Paul’s day, community was unavoidable.  With … Continue reading →

Today, along with Kailash Satyarthi of India, Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  In 2012 when she was 15, Malala was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban.  Miraculously, she was not killed. … Continue reading →

Here’s a letter to the Emory community (I’m an Emory grad, so I was included in the mass email) by President James Wagner after Sunday morning’s anti-semitic attack on an historically Jewish fraternity on campus. I do not understand why … Continue reading →

Notes for Today’s Worship Service (9/28/14) Song: Our Own Backyard was written by some very wise third graders…. with a little help from folk singer John McCutcheon.  John has produced 36 albums and currently is working on his 37th—a tribute … Continue reading →

Play video: We Made History, about the People’s Climate March  (www.peoplesclimate.org)  One of the people in that crowd of 400,000 was my new friend from songwriting camp, Doug Hendren.  We’ll see a video and hear a song by Doug during … Continue reading →