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Leaving Salem

When I was growing up, church for me was not a social activity. It was not a weekly event or a spiritual distraction to assist you with the trials of life. Church was a non-negotiable obligation. Sunday School, Sunday morning preaching, Discipleship Training, Sunday night, Monday night youth group, Wednesday night prayer meeting, choir rehearsal,…

I was smacked away from the dinner table on one occasion. Calm down, I was never abused, not even close. But my parents did believe in the effectiveness of that proverb, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Thus, I was definitely not spoiled. Even if corporal punishment had not been practiced in my childhood home,…

Having lunch with friends recently, we began talking about our earliest childhood memories. Maybe you have a firmer grip on your memory than we do, but none of us could recall anything but flashbulb moments before our kindergarten years. My friends have a young son, not yet three-years-old. He was sitting at the table with…

Before her retirement, my friend Betty Ann worked for the tourist development council of my hometown. She was the convention and visitors director. God must have a sense of humor. Let me explain. As she and her family unpacked in the sprawling metropolis that isCalhoun,Georgia, it didn’t take long for her new neighbors to arrive…

My kids are always after me to play a game with them: Monopoly, Uno, Deal or No Deal, and lately even Blackjack. That’s right. The preacher’s kids play Blackjack. I figure they’ll need those skills somewhere in the future. So in the spirit of my game-playing children, please play a game with me. You can…

My wife Cindy is a jackrabbit. Do you know what that means? I’ll explain. Cindy and I are bike riders. No, not the motorized, belching exhaust type, but the human-powered, pedaling type. We are bicycle riders. We have learned that bicycle riding is good for your health and your marriage. There are few sports we enjoy…

A few years ago I made a visit to a monastery. Not that I’m thinking of taking monastic vows, mind you; no, no, no. Jesus told his disciples that not everyone can live the ascetic life. I’m sure he was thinking of me. But I really looked forward to this visit. My friends and I…

An old man and an old woman, who had been married for many years, were driving to church one Sunday morning. They fell in behind another car being driven by a young man. He was of college age or younger. Sitting beside the young man was a young woman, obviously his girlfriend. In fact, she…

Tooling through the Deep South recently I saw an amazing sight. In a small town, tucked away between rolling hills and cotton fields, was a religious compound of sorts. At least that’s what I think it was. The Landmark Baptist Encampment had obviously acquired the facilities of a long-discarded school. There, they had set up…

January 13, 1982 was a cold, snowy day in the nation’s capitol. A massive blizzard delayed the travel of commuters trying to get home and air-travelers trying to leave the city. At the height of the storm, Air Florida Flight 90 took off from Washington D.C.’s National Airport. Just seconds in the air, its wings…
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