When I was a young Christian, I learned that communion was an intensely personal, even private moment of fellowship between Jesus and...
Watching my first roommate, I realized she obviously had not learned the one way to crack an egg. Whack! She hit an egg against the lip of the bowl. A perfect break. She...
My youngest daughter raced across the polished linoleum of the nursing home’s dining room to get me. We had come to serve dessert to the residents, but this sounded urgent. ...
In a time of economic and job insecurities, Dr. Douglas A. Hicks, author of Money Enough (Wiley, 2010), and professor of leadership...
On Friday my reflection focused on 1 Corinthians 9:22, part of which reads, in the New Living Translation: “I try to find...
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul has been using himself as an example of someone who gives up his rights for the sake...
Sunday morning found the Atkinson family visiting a church for the first time. We chose an older Episcopal church in our city that is well known for having a high and traditional worship service....
At first glance, 1 Corinthians 9 seems to change the subject dramatically. In chapter 8, Paul was dealing with the issue of...
The oldest man I ever knew was Brother Spencer. He was 98 when he died, and I wasn't 16. In his life...
In yesterday's reflection, I explained Paul's unexpected use of "strong" and "weak" with respect to our consciences. People with "strong consciences" have...
I remember coming home from work and there was my son James, lying on his stomach in the living room. He was surrounded by crayons and pieces of paper. ...
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul refers to strong and weak consciences in a way that might be confusing to us. If we were to think of someone having a “strong conscience,” we might...
My client had a delicate dilemma. A wealthy and generous man, my client had long supported a charity run by a charismatic...
In 1 Corinthians 8-10, the Apostle Paul takes on a particular problem within the Christian community in Corinth. Certain believers there were...
Psalm 137:9 is one of those verses in Scripture that shocks us. How can such a verse be in God's Word? How...
It is cool this morning. I am sitting outside with a cup of English Breakfast tea, looking at orange tropical flowers I planted in my herb garden. It is the day after fireworks...
This week, find a tablespoon of summer. Nothing big. A sound, a sight, something unimpressive. Give it to a poem, and let the poem give it life.
When I was in college, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, a popular southern rock band, released a new song, "So Into You." It began, "When you walked into the room, there was voodoo in...
Christians care deeply about knowledge, or at least we should. After all, we were created with the ability to know. Through our understanding, we are able to fulfill the first lines in our human...
Still, yesterday I went to a ballet class. The walls were white, not that attractive. I found at least three spiders and...
