We Can Share That Table Over There
Sundays are often very busy for us. Our busyness is equal parts the nature of my vocation and my own choices. Yesterday, we had a bit more time for lunch. A co-worker told Patty about Granny’s Kitchen, so off we went. We stood between the door and the waitstaff podium in the packed restaurant. The waitress...
Marty Duren and The Disparate Ones
I scraped off the cobwebs, blew out the dust, and set up the mic to converse with my friend Marty Duren. We have been friends and have shared our writing for almost twenty years. Sometimes, the projects were collaborative. We often wanted another set of eyes on something we were putting down on paper. Today,...
Beverly’s Messy Plate
Better than a How-to-Book It was not uncommon for my parents to head to Beverly’s after church when we were young. A group of their friends would gather at an old location at the intersection of May and Northwest 16th Street with kids in tow. For what seemed like hours to us they talked and ate, ate...
A Day of Firsts
You would think that after 30 years a pastor would have had all his firsts under his belt. Our Sunday Bible Study group was busy discussing the distinctions between betrayal and rebellion. We are working our way through the late Rober Jensen’s, Conversations with Poppi. Solveig had remarked to her Poppi that both God and Jesus...
The God of Wild Places
My mentor preached at my ordination service. He was the third preacher to preach in the service. When he stood to preach he said, “I am the preacher who preaches after the preacher who preached after the preacher who has already preached.” Knowing Rick, he made that observation during the service and thought it might...
When Your Pen Pal Is Your Son
Sharing Your Faith Is Not A Single Format Opportunity Those who know me know I am a talker. The corollary is that I tend to process my thinking out loud. Now you know why posts are sometimes infrequent and my podcast frequency is worse. Can We Talk? is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts...
Wonder and Surprise
Long ago, I spent a week at Camp Hudgens, a boy’s camp in southeast Oklahoma. Actually, it was an Oklahoma Baptist camp for Royal Ambassadors. Think Christianized Boy Scouts. As a Royal Ambassador, I will do my best to become an informed, responsible follower of Christ, the pledge began. I don’t know if it was by intention,...
An Influential Mentor
Marv Levy takes his dry humor around the globe in the comedy series The Reluctant Traveler. Levy’s travels leave him perplexed and curious. His episode-ending reflections include themes he picks up along the way. Often sounding surprised, he finds that folks living in Finland enjoy life outdoors, even if it is cold. Smiles greet him, and...
Interrogate the Language
We deconstruct everything so why the bugaboo? Mark Driscoll famously attacked deconstruction, or Deconstruction, with the caricature that the goal is to reduce everything to its nub so it may be dismissed. He used the schtick to strike fear in those who dared question what they had been taught, particularly at Mars Hill. We all...
#DEI and Indoctrination?! with Greg Horton
Claims that the Woke Left is indoctrinating students in Oklahoma Public Schools have been a talking point of Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters since he began his campaign. Once elected, erasing the Woke Agenda has been his ongoing mantra. My friend Greg Horton posted about the claims of indoctrination on his Facebook Page, to...
Rambo’s First Blood? Nah, Merely a Flesh Wound
Who doesn’t take a selfie with blood running down their face? It’s hard on a preacher to sweat. Jerry and Beth lived across the street from the parsonage on OK 5 in Gould, Oklahoma. We became fast friends in the short time we lived in southwest Oklahoma. Late-night card games and an occasional offer to...
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It’s an Op Ed!
Religion reporting is as fraught with peril as any other specialized field of journalism. Pastors, at least seminary-trained pastors, learn to discern the genre of the text under consideration. Reading the Psalms? It is helpful to be aware of how Hebrew Poetry works. If we simply say it is poetry, we Americans may look for...