Who Told You That?
In his famous book, "Rules for Radicals," Saul Alinsky states "Lest we forget at least an over the shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins - or which is which),...
What’s In A Name? EVERYTHING
Poor Juliet struggles as she wrestles with the fact that her new-found love is for a hated Montague. Romeo listens as she says her famous line "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,...
Very Good!
You've heard me talk about Simon Sinek's book "Start With Why." The main thrust of the book is a simple premise: If you forget why you do what you do, you will soon stop doing what you do! As a further consequence of this foundational amnesia, you will also not...
A Reed Shaken by the Wind?
Sometimes an extreme example is needed to restore the equilibrium to a society, a country, or even a person. And that moment of extreme example, action, behavior, sacrifice is rarely embraced or accepted by those who don't want the restoration or don't see that it's even necessary. You see, the...
Ugly, Empty Liturgy! Really?
"Vain repetition, that's all it is!" My friend was absolutely horrified by my shift from my Pentecostal roots to the Greek Orthodox Church. He came to a service where I was presiding as priest and he simply shook his head in disbelief. "How could you do this?" he wondered...
The Fast Is A Feast!
When I was a boy, I was always excited about my birthday party. My mom was a hard working lady, but there always seemed to be time enough to make my day special either with a cake or something else that let me mark this landmark in my young...
Perverting the Nation
I really don't know where it came from, but since I can remember, there were two great interests in my mind - politics and religion. Strange, since my traditional Southern upbringing discouraged the mixing of the two realms of human endeavor. But there it was, a passionate interest in...
Blow The Trumpet in Zion
I was sitting right next to it! And then it went off! And I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was an alarm that let you know when someone was "breaking into the house." I didn't realize I was that close when they were going to test it...
The Widow’s Test
I will never forget his face. You see, this man was asking me about giving to his church. He was absolutely amazed that his pastor had preached a sermon on tithing. Tithing is the belief that one should set aside 10% of one's income to dedicate to God's house...
Seeing Further Gives Strength!
"They say hindsight's 20/20." Yep, that's what they say. I don't know anyone who, if they could and knowing what they know now, wouldn't jump into a time machine and go back to one or two spots in their lives and do something different. We all have moments in...