Originally posted at Real Live Preacher on February 18th, 2003. Requested by Bill Gawne Sit down Christian. You cannot wave your unread Bible and scare me because I know the larger story that runs through it beginning to end. I’m trying to resist the temptation to snatch it from your hands and beat you with…
Originally posted at Real Live Preacher on September 4th, 2003. Requested by Paige Baker. I recently watched “The Believer,” a movie based on the true story of Daniel Burros, a Jewish man who was a member of the American Nazi party in the 1960s. I had such mixed emotions while watching it. I was horrified by…
i let him out after 39 months in solitary i hadnt planned on it but my new friends are so nice and they asked if i would teach a bible study but just for three weeks so that was fine and of course i said okay because i like them and im happy to help…
Let me guess. You wandered into an Episcopal church and the beauty got you. The rich fabrics on the altar and the vestments on the priests make perfect sense to you, as does the fancy procession down the aisle. Of course they enter the room as if this event matters. And you like words, don’t you?…
Originally posted at Real Live Preacher on April 25th, 2006. Requested by Brad Chittick. I don’t know how many of you are out there. I have some statistics that suggest there are a lot of you. A very large number of you. I try not to think about that when I’m writing. It’s hard, but…
Admittedly, setting your own beard on fire at the Easter Vigil is a lesser known ritual. Not one that many Episcopalians go through. I might be the only one person you’ve ever heard of who has done this. But given the late hour of the service, the hand-held candles, and the large number of scripture readings…
Everything that night was out of the ordinary. I was passing through La Vernia, Texas with time to kill. I don’t usually drive through La Vernia, and it’s rare that I’m on the road unless I’m supposed to be somewhere at an appointed time. It felt good to be in a small town without being…
I was in a religious service recently where some people raised their hands, closed their eyes, and swayed back and forth as they sang. This kind of thing is generally a sign that the person is either experiencing a moment of spiritual ecstasy or is seeking such a moment and hoping her body language will…
In 2012, I’ve been asked to write as the anonymous character “Pilgrim” for the High Calling. My Pilgrim Posts at Laity Lodge will not be continuing. Instead Pilgrim will tell us what it’s been like to enter the secular workforce. Greetings. You can call me Pilgrim. In 2012 I wrote a series of essays at the…
What I feel like is a man slowly drifting away from his faith. It’s not an intellectual process. My commitment to Christianity is far deeper than mind games now. My faith is of the body. And my body is telling me some things. I have no desire to pray. I have no interest in doctrinal…