Why I Write: The Power of Story in the Human Narrative

Years ago, when I was traveling to different churches and seeking a job as a youth pastor, I ended up at a fairly conservative Baptist church. I don’t mean to pick on that denomination, but while there on my interview, I was put into a bit of a bind by a particular question I was asked in front of a group of parents and students. “Do you think it’s OK to watch rated R movies?”

The reason this question proved to be so awkward was that it’s loaded with assumptions, and implications for the wrong answer. It also is the kind of question that makes people look at Christians all goofy. Continue reading →

Things I’ve Learned in a Sunshine State Weekend

Jen and I traveled to our old stomping grounds in Tallahassee, Florida for a wedding this weekend. It’s actually the first time we’ve been back to Tally in just about five years exactly, since we graduated from FSU and got married in May of 2005. Mainly, it’s been good to see old friends and once familiar places. It’s a bizarre kind of time travel, really.

It’s weird how people you haven’t seen in several years can just pick back up with you like no time’s passed at all. I think it speaks volumes to how valuable friendships are, and the need people feel for connectedness. Either that, or our mutual Facebook stalking has kept up the ruse of familiarity. Maybe a little bit of both.

Anyway, here are the things I’ve learned in our trip to the Sunshine State… Continue reading →

Shedding Another Person

I can’t quite pinpoint the time or the date, but sometime early last year I decided that it was time for me to lose weight. There were several factors that lead me to this conclusion, the least of which was the fact that I was on the verge of collecting several moons to orbit my person day and night as I slowly rotated about my ever-growing axis. I was Galactus, devourer of worlds that would satiate what was apparently a 3500 calorie a day diet. If you’re unaware, that’s a lot of calories, considering the average person needs about 2000 a day.

So, I did something I had never done in my entire life. I dieted. Continue reading →

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