The first time I heard the saying, “Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted”, it was in seminary. I heard it from a cohort leader who said it in a way that led me to believe that she made it up. She never said she made it up. But, that was her response, when I … More The Comfort Paradox
Have you ever seen a cygnet? A cygnet is a baby swan. And they are super cute. And yet, when we talk of people who blossom into a more physically beautiful being than one may have imagined, we say that they were an “ugly duckling”, based on the tale by that name created by Hans … More Eye of the Be Holder
When a parishioner from the church I serve emailed me this past Friday reminding me that the mother of Rodney Reed, the man on death row in TX whose case has grabbed the attention of millions, was the caregiver of her father before he passed it hit me hard. She had mentioned this to me … More To Governor Abbott of TX on Behalf of Rodney Reed on Death Row
Several posts ago, I wrote about how I sometimes hold myself back from shining my light. The excuse that I was using was that by holding myself back in some areas, I was somehow protecting the people who would otherwise try to hold me back. I’d hold myself back before they could try to. Yeah. … More To Be the New Me
There is this common idea in the world of appearances that is described as “faking it until you make it”. When I first heard that saying, it was disturbing to me. The way I interpreted it was that people should pretend to be someone others think they should be. This was something people advise people … More Pretending to Be You
In theaters right now, there is a biopic based on some aspects of the life of Harriet Tubman. As a character in history, Harriet Tubman has always held a special place in my heart because she refused to be a slave. And according to legend, she refused to let anyone who said they wanted to … More Harriet’s Daughters: The Legacy of the #StrongBlackWoman
Any organization that has endured the test of time would tell you that reinvention is the master key to longevity and continued relevance. Just ask companies like Apple, Coke, McCafe, I mean McDonald’s or even Polaroid or Kodak who are trying to get into the mobile phone accessory realm and you’ll see what I mean. … More The Marketing Mastery of Mr. West
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. — Marianne Williamson One day my dad called me out of nowhere and invited me to visit him in Mississippi. He said he wanted to talk to me and that it had … More Power Beyond Measure Part 4
God is the ground of being, being-itself; who concerns us ultimately. Thus, God is our ultimate concern. — Paul Tillich I’ll be honest with you and say that on a weekly if not daily basis, I find myself wondering what good I am doing as a pastor. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what I do or the people with … More Being With God
“Your greatest weakness is your strength overdone.” — Some Wise Person Whose Name I can’t remember. In a recent post, I reflected a little on being an 8 on the Enneagram. In it I mentioned briefly about 8s despising weakness in themselves and others. What I didn’t get into was examples of that in my … More Mastering Your Greatest Weakness
