The “Lean on Me” Ethic, No Bootstraps Required
It is all over Facebook that Bill Withers passed away today. The top hit of his illustrious career was Lean on Me. It ranked #7 when it was released in 1972, the year I was born. Withers did not die of the Coronavirus but I can’t help think of his greatest hit in light of our […]
Love in the Time of Coronavirus
“Whenever ye fall ill, refer to competent physicians. Verily, We have not abolished recourse to material means, rather have We affirmed it.” – Bahá’u’lláh, The Throne of the Inner Temple “ All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall […]
Video killed the radio star, don’t let it victimize your relationships
In September of 1979 the British new wave/synth-pop group The Buggles released the single Video Killed the Radio Star; nearly two years later, the song would become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the single became the first-ever video to be shown on MTV airing one minute after midnight on August 1, 1981. The musical landscape was […]
Visually Mapping COVID-19 across the U.S.
Everyone handles stressful times differently. My wife reads a lot of articles about what is happening with COVID-19 but she doesn’t really dive into the numbers. I, on the other hand, am a numbers person. I’ve been regularly watching the numbers for a while. I’ve used several different sites to track what is happening. Finally, […]
A Journey to Eastern Christianity
The following is a talk which my departed grandmother invited me to give for her Sunday School class at First United Methodist Shreveport and which, due to some confusion, was given in its entirety to the wrong class. Because of that, I have never shared it until now. The talk zones in on Fr. Seraphim […]
Lighting tips to make video recording yourself a little less painful
With the development of the COVID-19 virus and it’s speed of transmission, much of the world now finds themselves in quarantine. As a result, all manner of jobs are being shifted into the virtual sphere- if you can accomplish the task via video, you are now expected to make that adjustment, and if you […]
Republicans can’t be Christian
Republicans can’t be Christians I am going to say something controversial, “Republicans can’t be Christians.” To the vast majority of Christians, I just said something unthinkable, especially if one is of the evangelical stripe of Christianity. I can feel the anger swelling up in some readers as they instantly find this notion absolutely ridiculous. […]
White privilege in the White House
If the Presidency of Donald J. Trump has one overarching theme thus far, it would have to be the attempt to undo everything the Obama administration accomplished. In fact, the Trump presidency “brand” could simply be captioned “Anti-Obama”— a label that both appeals to Trump supporters while simultaneously angering his opponents. Yet no matter where […]
Never too Old to be too Young
I grew up in a small country Southern Baptist Church in rural California. When my family moved there our family of six doubled the size of the church. But, the church did grow over the years. As a Teenager When I was in high school, our youth group was “thriving”- there were probably 8-12 of […]
The Teacher is a true master who can use even the strangest of tools
My faith is Orthodox Christianity. The life that led me to it was hardly orthodox (small o), nor was it anything special. Perhaps even less so is the world I have lived through since I came onto the Path. The Teacher is a true master who can use even the strangest of tools. Therefore I […]