Against Inerrancy

5 Nov 20195 Nov 2019

I love the Bible, but I don’t much like the term inerrancy.   Now, calmly dig your fingernails out of the palms of your hands so that you will have the wherewithal to…

The Potter’s Hands: Divine Freedom, Divine Responsiveness

22 Oct 201922 Oct 2019

Jeremiah famously went down to the Potter’s House in order to learn something of the mysterious ways of God. What he discovered was that God was indeed glorious in power…

The Stranger and the Wine (A Poem)

18 Oct 2019

Like pillars of smoke  From wilderness wild  Did Solomon’s glory appear; Now, David’s great son,  Made dim silhouette;  A greater in splendor is here!  At midnight he sought My slumbering place; Silently, he stood ‘neath the wall. His gaze found my bed Past moon-guarded panes; Through…

Blessing the Hungry: Eucharist and the Economy of Grace

13 Oct 201914 Oct 2019

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so…

Southern Guilt, Southern Gospel: The Spirituality of Traditional Country Music

23 Sep 201924 Sep 2019

Traditional Country music as expressed by the haunting echoes of Hank Williams, the gritty ballads of Johnny Cash, and the tragic tales of love gone wrong by George Jones (to…

Worship as Holy War

16 Sep 201917 Sep 2019

Flannery O’Connor once quipped, “Violence is a force which can be used for good or evil, and among other things which are taken by it is the kingdom of heaven.” She…

The Protestant Revolution: Worshipers of the World, Unite!

12 Sep 2019

The Protestant Reformation was a liturgical revolution. That is, it was primarily a worship movement. Magisterial Reformers such as John Calvin were chiefly concerned with justifying the practices of the…

Unfettered Desire (A Poem)

9 Sep 20199 Sep 2019

I would do anything for you, my love,  If it was convenient.    I would brave the ancient currents of the Nile,  If it was considerably shorter.  And cleaner.  Oh,…

The Years Have Been Kind (A Poem)

4 Sep 2019

 (For Jessica On the Occasion of Her 40th Year) “The years have been kind,” That’s what people say When they wish to render praise; To pay compliment to beauty, Or acknowledge the…

The Leech Has Two Daughters: Anglican Preaching and the Priority of Metaphor

3 Sep 20193 Sep 2019

In a recent post, I made the outstanding claim that life is liturgical, therefore the Church should have a high view of liturgy. That’s still true. But more words are almost…