Greetings from St. Louis! I’m up here on part two of my sabbatical experience taking care of some familial obligations. As a part of that, today I helped my parents mow the lawn. I suppose it’s what little I can do to earn my keep around here. I’m no stranger to lawnmowers. During the summer…

Most of us are doing ok. Some of us are doing terrible. But there are some who are doing really well.  This is the case all the time, but it is especially noticeable in a virus outbreak. We talk about what it would be like if we bought stock in Zoom before the virus. We…

While I’m in St. Louis on sabbatical, one of my primary goals is to learn about the assets and business of my family up here including several rental properties. One of those assets is a 1916 Chevrolet Pick Up truck. This truck was built on the body of a Chevrolet “490” vehicle, so named because…

We’re not back yet. But we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are wondering about a return. A return to…what? What now? Some things will pick up right where we left off in March. Some things aren’t going to ever be the same again. We’re asking questions about which…

The now sainted John Prine sings a song entitled “Clay Pigeons,” which is actually a cover of a song written by a guy named Blaze Foley. In that song, Foley and Prine sing about a man who boards a Greyhound bus for a 2 to 3 day trip in order to put some healthy distance…

I purchased my first mask this weekend. Up until now I have been using the “surgeon general’s homemade mask” made out of cloth and hairties/rubber bands. I figured it looks like we’re in this for the long haul, and…well…if we make it through this, it might make for a good memento. But being healthy isn’t…

There’s a hymn that goes “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home,” written by a guy named Thomas Taylor. It was eerily published a year after he went to his home, heaven, at the age of 28 after an illness. Throughout the hymn, Thomas Taylor compares the ills of the world with the…

The first Easter happened with 10 men huddled in a room with doors locked for fear of the Jewish authorities. Jesus’ 12 disciples, minus Judas, minus Thomas who was out doing something, were quarantined in a room just barely meeting today’s CDC guidelines for group gatherings. John tells us something important – they were afraid.…

This Sunday begins the period of time that we know as Holy Week – a week that encompasses the observances of Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and of course, Easter Sunday. Of course, this also continues to be an extension of the “Sundays in Live Stream” season that we have been encountering due to…

One of my least favorite stereotypes about Lutherans is that Lutherans are afraid of/reluctant to/allergic to/etc innovation. If this is at all true, it is a heresy that has crept into our denominational blood stream. Lutherans are pioneers. We pioneered the Reformation. We pioneered the printing press. We largely pioneered radio ministry. But somewhere along…