I heard a story at a conference which seems apropos for the first full week in January:  During the first century a famous rabbi walked the streets of his city pondering a deep theological problem.  He was so lost in thought that he did not realize he had wandered next to the Roman garrison looming over the occupied town.  From the guard tower the sentry called down a challenge to him, "Who are you and what are doing here?"  Startled out of his reverie the holy man stared intently up at the soldier he asked, "How much do they pay...

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 I've made no secret of my hope that the ELCA would move toward greater inclusion of gays and lesbians in the life of the church. So this past week I have had a a number of folks come up to me and say,"Well, I guess you are dancing in the street" or "We won!." But I have to say that my reaction has been a little more bittersweet. I am old enough to remember how the churches in my home state of South Carolina greeted greater inclusion of blacks in the life of previously white churches and the ordination of...

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 In "Blue Like Jazz" Donald Miller writes about why he had a hard time taking Jesus and the church seriously: "It also confused me that some people would look at part fo the Bible but not the whole thing. They ignored a lot of obvious questions. I felt as if Christianity,as a religious system, was ta product that kept falling apart, and whoever was seeling it would hold the broken parts behind his back trying to divert everybody's attention The children's story stuff was the thing I felt Christians were holding behind their back. The Garden of Eden, fall of...

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 There is a joke among the townies that Blacksburg is a great place when the students are not around.  Of course, it is easier to get a parking place and the traffic is all but non-existent during the summer.  But as the semester gets ready to crank up I realize that I am ready for folks to come back.  Partly it is because if there were no students I know I would not have a job--and would soon not be in Blacksburg either.  But I on a deeper level I realize that working with students feeds my soul.  Being there...

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I want to invite you into a conversation around faith issues.  So to kick things off let me share a reflection that originally went out to members of Luther Memorial congregation.  How have you been blessed or cursed by the church and its members?   "The truth is that each of us is necessarily either blessing or curse to those around us.  How much better—both for them and for ourselves—to be a conscious blessing to another than a burden on the way."                                                 —Joan Chittister, Listen with the Heart—   As I read the above quotation during my morning devotions...

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