by Guy Sayles | Feb 5, 2011 |
A wise teacher told his disciples that the wonder and mystery of God are too vast for words. So they asked him, “Then why do you talk about God at all?” He shrugged and answered: “Why does a bird sing?” The novelist Nikos Kazantzakis wrote: “I said to the almond tree,...
by Guy Sayles | Jan 30, 2011 |
He shuffled slowly along the sidewalk, stoop shouldered, holding tightly to his walker. He had tried to comb his hair, but some of it had resisted going into place. His shirttail was more untucked than tucked, but I could tell that this was a man who, at one time, had...
by Guy Sayles | Jan 24, 2011 |
I spend a lot of my time in-between experience and words. By experience I simply mean whatever it is that happens to, in and around me: the events I participate in, the people I encounter, and the thoughts and images that arise, invited or not, in my mind and heart....
by Guy Sayles | Jan 17, 2011 |
I am sure you have heard about the wise and respected rabbi whose student once asked, “Rabbi, why is it that you answer all of our questions with a question?” The rabbi replied: “What’s wrong with answering your questions with a question?” There have been times in my...
by Guy Sayles | Jan 10, 2011 |
I was in San Antonio this past week, a great city in which I once lived and worked, for a meeting of pastors and seminary professors who are exploring together new models for the relationship between local congregations and seminaries/divinity schools. We’ve been...
by Guy Sayles | Jan 2, 2011 |
I’m convinced that we’re most likely to make a positive difference—to contribute to meaningful development and lasting change—if we pay close attention to small things over the long haul. Real differences emerge when we consistently tend to details without losing...
by Guy Sayles | Dec 30, 2010 |
For me, there’s an almost irresistible pull toward evaluation and resolution in the ending of a year and the beginning of another. I know there’s something artificial about it, since there isn’t, after all, any particular magic or significance about one day’s...
by Guy Sayles | Dec 26, 2010 |
I made the decision to cancel our gathering for worship today at First Baptist Church of Asheville. As a safety decision, I am nearly certain it was the right thing to do. Getting to the church campus would be treacherous today, and I don’t want to put people at...
by Guy Sayles | Dec 23, 2010 |
There are so many things I like look forward to during the Christmas season: “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” especially that scrawny and scraggly Christmas tree Charilie Brown brings to decorate the set of the Christmas pageant, scrawny and scraggly but green, fragrant...
by Guy Sayles | Dec 16, 2010 |
When the angel Gabriel told Mary that God had invited her to become the mother of Jesus, the angel also gave her the news that her (much!) older cousin, Elizabeth, was pregnant. The news about Elizabeth was astonishing because Elizabeth was well into her Polident and...
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