Overcommitted Can Be Like Uncommitted

by | Oct 14, 2012 | Uncategorized

Whether it’s the actual truth or not, when someone asks, “How are you doing?” we’re most likely to answer, “Fine.” My guess is that our next most common responses are “busy” and “tired.”   Almost twenty years ago, in her book When Giants Learn to Dance, Harvard...

Rejoice?

by | Oct 3, 2012 | Uncategorized

In an old Peanuts cartoon, Lucy asks Charlie Brown, “Did you ever know anyone who was really happy?” Before he answers, that effervescent Snoopy dances into the scene—head flung back, ears streaming in the wind, a wide, giddy grin lighting up his face. He vibrates fun...

The Power of Words

by | Sep 20, 2012 | Uncategorized

If  we  priced and valued words as we do commodities, on the basis of supply and demand, then words would be dirt cheap these days.  There are more words available in the cultural marketplace than ever before: round the clock television news and talk...

Nothing About Ultimate About Politics

by | Sep 2, 2012 | Uncategorized

On this weekend between the Republican and Democratic National Conventions—a brief pause between “Please like us; we’re nicer than we seem” (the Republican theme) and “Please don’t leave us; we’re doing the best we can” (the Democratic theme)—I am remembering a few...

Enough

by | Aug 24, 2012 | Uncategorized

When Anne Lamott was expecting her son, Sam, she realized how much she feared that she would be unable to provide adequately for his needs.  She remembered that, during her own childhood, her parents were so cheap that they didn’t keep Band-Aids in the...

Not on our own

by | Aug 16, 2012 | Uncategorized

A long time ago, much longer than I care to admit, I played high school football.  I was big and strong, but not very fast and not very good with my hand, so that meant I was an offensive tackle.  It’s not a position anyone gets excited about, not even...

For the people

by | Aug 7, 2012 | Uncategorized

Tom Morris enjoys bringing the insights he has mined from the disciplines of philosophy and theology to bear on the challenges and opportunities of leadership.  In his book If Aristotle Ran General Motors, he described a “pivotal conversation” between designer...

Freedom of Serving

by | Jul 31, 2012 | Uncategorized

There’s no such thing as absolute freedom. Bob Dylan was right “You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed/You’re gonna have to serve somebody/Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord/But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”  We’re always serving...

by | Jul 25, 2012 | Uncategorized

I’m grateful to have the chance to share this sermon–“A Vast and Loving God”–through Day 1: http://day1.org/3945-our_vast_and_loving_god