I’m building a course for the fall. MIN 440: Theory and practice of pastoral care. I’ll be teaching on-line, asynchronous, over seven weeks. Academically, I feel woefully unprepared. As a chaplain, people sometimes ask me, “where did you get your theological training.” And I smile and say, “I don’t have any.” There are a couple […]

God. This week J died and D died and others that I did and didn’t know died. Each person reading these words has deaths not too far from their hearts and memories and social media feeds. Reading Paul’s words about death and life and sin and freedom, which are your words, feels a little too […]

Today is the end of the first half of the year. The calendar year. Because I’m pretty good at being a second chair, or being helpful, I’m not great at goal setting or annual reviews. Or perhaps it’s just because I’m so great at checking email and social media, worrying about who I might be […]

Rich Dixon is finally over the bridge. +++ “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken.” Pastor Mark’s personal beatitude proved remarkably prophetic. Following Jesus (or a God-sized dream, or a river) means not traveling directly from A to B. Most folks think of the Mississippi River as a strip of water flowing […]

God. The year is halfway done.The calendar year, anyway. And some of us can barely remember the beginning of this year. There has been death or diagnoses,there has been over-commitment or under-valuationof our ideas or belongings or energy or selves. There were more good intentions than capacity to follow through. We are weary, some of […]