The summer’s early morning sun, as full at this moment as it will be in the late evening, is peering through my window. Its beams promise a wonderfully scorching day. There are no such promises in autumn or winter. I’m a summer man. I need what summer brings. However, as a Michigander, I’ll admit to an occasional affair with autumn. But never winter. Winter is the devil’s business. Autumn is altogether different. Its seduction is lovely. Its whispers are rustling leaves, giggling trick-or-treaters, the first bite of an orchard’s apple, and sandhill cranes screeching from a chilled river’s sho ..read more

I’ve often thought that if I were to force an exchange of my children’s video gaming with another viewing interest, I’d steer them toward nature shows. By comparison, a documentary detailing life’s varied wonders seems an easy choice compared to the carnage inherent to “Call of Duty.” But there’s a problem with this assumption. Stop by the Discovery Channel. Pick any nature show you’d like. Watch its episodes. Pick another show. Do the same. You’ll uncover something rather interesting. Nature shows are little more than everything murdering everything else. Carnivore or herbivore, every living ..read more

One of my daughters asked if I’d ever want to teach at one of my synod’s seminaries. I thought about it for a moment before finally admitting my willingness. I’d do it, but only if allowed to teach homiletics—the art of writing and delivering a sermon. I think my denomination is sometimes weak in this department. Indeed, our pulpits are brimming with sound doctrine. This is essential. Still, far too many listeners struggle to believe their preachers’ sincerity. They have a great handle on the formulas. They can, as Rev. Dr. David Scaer once mused, “tell the people off for five minutes, and th ..read more

The poet William Stafford once mused that children bear skillful qualities unavailable to adults. Specifically, he wrote that children “dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music.” Observing my own children, I know he’s right. No matter the circumstance, good or bad, they’ll hear a moment’s musical accompaniment resonating from unhearable spaces. And then they’ll dance to it. Sometimes those spaces will send lyrics. Again, fortune or tragedy, a danceable song will emerge. Strangely, my children seem more attuned to tragedy’s repertoire. In other words, while on vacation, their ..read more

George Burns once said something about how you know you’re getting older when you stoop to tie your shoes and, because it’ll take a while, you wonder what else you could do while you’re down there. Although another sign might be that as you’re taunting your teenage daughter from across a room, you stick out your tongue and pull a neck muscle. If you can’t even make playful faces without hurting yourself, it’s time to think more intently about retirement—about how and where you’ll finish your days. I wouldn’t say I’ve reached “old age” just yet. However, I’ve crossed well into its borderlands ..read more

You might be surprised to hear it, but I’m fascinated by rude people. Not in a good way, of course. Like you, my sinful side is usually rooting for a rude person’s demise. It’s just that the animalistic confidence is darkly intriguing. It’s the kind of behavior that, as I watch, I almost expect to hear David Attenborough’s voice narrating its necessity for a particular subspecies of humanity’s crass survival. You know what I mean. A conversation becomes a disagreement. With all their other skills used up, the subspecies human turns to rude name-calling. And why? Because it’s their only means ..read more

It’s storming as I write this. Quite ferociously, in fact. And so, here I sit. As I do, I examine, realizing this community is about to be damaged. Accepting this is about all any of us can do. The thing about storms is that once they come, the only real way to escape is to endure. There is no negotiating with the sky. You can only shelter from it. You cannot divert the wind. You can only barricade against it. You cannot pinpoint the lightning’s strike. You can only expect it and then know it touched something, somewhere, when you hear its thunderous departure. Storms alter landscapes. They e ..read more

Imagine for a moment that you’re at a funeral. Suddenly, a scratching sound becomes a somewhat shallow thumping from inside the coffin. What do you do? Do you open it? Now, hold on a second. You should think this one through because plenty could go wrong. For one, if you open it and out jumps the first zombie-virus-spreading beastie, long after you’ve been eaten, you’ll be remembered as the idiot doorman for the world’s destruction. “So, which idiot opened the casket?” a group member will ask while leaning against a barricaded door. “It was Steve,” someone will sigh. “Did it get him?” another ..read more

“I really need someone to travel along with me everywhere I go,” I said, walking into the kitchen and setting the grocery bags on the counter. “Why?” Jennifer asked, giving a glance from the stove where she labored to prepare stuffed pepper soup. “Because,” I replied, beginning to pull items from the bags, “I truly need a witness to what I’m forced to endure out there.” “What happened?” “And I need someone to protect me from myself in certain situations at certain times of the day,” I added, pulling more items from the bags. “Chris, what happened?” I proceeded to describe what was a hurried t ..read more

Have you ever been so angry that you felt the urge to… well… do something you probably shouldn’t? If so, let me give you a little bit of advice. Disregard attempting to calm yourself by controlling your breathing or counting to ten. Doing these contemplative things will only add to the premeditation aspect of the prosecution’s case when you’re eventually put on trial for doing what you intend to do. They’ll say you thought it through. Instead, let it be an unhindered crime of crazed passion. This will put you closer to an insanity plea, and with that, no chance at the electric chair and the p ..read more