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Keeping The Faith

Some of the largest steam locomotives every built were produced in the 1930s by the Lima Locomotive Company of Lima,Ohio. The granddaddy of them all was named the “Alleghany,” and only two models of the dozen or so built survive. One of these survivors is stored at the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan. This railway…

For those who grew up in the revivalistic tradition, we heard the same basic sermon every Sunday: “You are sinner. Repent or you’re going to hell. And you better get to it, because Jesus could return at any second and catch you unprepared.” I can’t tell you how many times I heard a preacher say something…

I’m no prophet. I don’t spend much time worrying about the end of the world or fretting over apocalyptic calendars. But I do think about the future, and sometimes I venture a calculated guess about what might be lurking over the horizon. Here is my guess: The Christian church, as we have known it, will die.…

I heard humorist Jack Handey say that you should never criticize someone until you walk a mile in his or her shoes. Then, when you do criticize them, “You are a mile away and have their shoes.” That’s not bad advice, especially when it comes to telling others how to parent their children. If you…

There was a time when Jesus could be found eating with the religious leaders of his day. No longer. They quit inviting him to their cocktail parties when he would not conform to their standards of doctrine and conduct. This led to a greater problem: Jesus began socializing and eating with “tax collectors and other…

Bishop Desmond Tutu celebrated his 81st birthday this past week. The accomplishments of his eight decades are well-known and many. We know the story: For most of his life he has labored in the racial tension and trenches of South Africa, working to break down the barriers of apartheid, where a white minority, through force…

Question: Why won’t some people go to church? Answer: Because they have been to church. Even Jesus fell into this category. After a “bad church experience” he left the establishment and never returned. The incident is recorded in Luke 13. Jesus was attending synagogue on the Sabbath day, when across the sanctuary he saw a crippled…

In her book Gravity and Grace, the late Simone Weil wrote, “Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it.” With those words she emphasizes a spirituality which for the most part has been only a minority report in the Christian church. It is the spirituality of…

The Gospels show that nothing seemed to stir Jesus more than religious oppression, because where it was found, he began pushing back against it with a vengeance. And when he pushed, the religious professionals got angry. They condemned him for having dirty hands, for breaking the law, and for leading people astray. This did not stop…

Many years ago I wrote an article that one of my newspaper editors entitled, “The Beautiful, Blended Family of God.” It was a delightful little piece that I scribbled down while watching my two young sons play together. My boys are adopted and are as different as can be – in personality and physicality – but…
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