Airline Near-Disasters and Further Reflections on Lent
By now, anyone who has the news on will have heard about the Delta airplane coming into La Guardia Airport that skidded off the runway. It came within feet of plunging into the icy waters of the bay....
View ArticleMystery Worship: Fear and Tribulation Bring in Money and People at...
“Wow–Joel Osteen and The Summit in Houston have nothing on this place!” So my companion commented as we walked into the cavernous worship center of the main campus of Prestonwood Baptist Church in...
View ArticleAppeal to Scripture as the Ultimate Authority Leads to Schism
I sat in a giant, rich Baptist church on Sunday, and heard the pastor say, “Just trust me on this one,” as he pronounced with authority the demise of the US and the rise of the Antichrist over the...
View ArticleHow Megachurches Have Killed the Practice of Prayer
It suddenly dawned on me last Sunday: Prayer is not media-friendly. In this past year, I’ve visited over forty different types of churches, writing up my experiences for a regional newspaper. I then...
View ArticleFive Factors That Create a Culture of Hate
I am not going to do any second-guessing as to background and causation of the tragedy in South Carolina. The facts themselves are horrific enough: a young white man spends some time in worship in a...
View ArticleWorship at St. James AME: "The Doors of the Church are Still Open"
“The doors of the church are still open.” The media will soon forget the horror of the June 17, 2015 murders of nine good people at Mother Emanuel, the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston,...
View ArticleUnity: The Conservative's Worst Nightmare or Our Best Hope?
The Problem with Unity This past Sunday, while sitting in the Sunday morning session at the Unity Spiritual Center of Denton, I had a powerful flash of insight: This is the religious conservative’s...
View ArticleYou Choose: Was This a Worship Experience or Was It . . . ?
All our needs were met. Instructions were clear and signage was excellent. Gracious and competent attendants directed us through the gargantuan parking lot, waving us into a convenient spot. Greeters...
View Article"Trumpian" or Christian?
It has been announced: The Donald isn’t going to show up for the January 28 Republican debate because he doesn’t like Megyn Kelly and her, “I’m going to keep you accountable for your sexist remarks”...
View ArticleThe penchant for purity will kill the church
I am watching from a distance as I see The United Methodist Church slowly disintegrate into irreconcilable factions led, kind of, by a group of paralyzed Bishops. At this point, they appear to be...
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