I’m not a Cubs fan. In fact, as a Cardinals fan, I was told that Cardinals fans cheer for the St. Louis Cardinals and whoever is playing the Cubs. But getting caught up in Christian empathy, I can’t help but smile as the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in over 100 years (and…

As you’re reading this, I’m probably either up in the air or in St. Louis. The reason for that is that I have been invited to be a part of a think tank group that is addressing something that happened this past summer at the LCMS National Convention. Namely, that a resolution was passed that…

The phrase “eating crow” means to admitting something that is less than savory. The idea is that if you were to ever eat a crow, it wouldn’t taste that good. It certainly wouldn’t taste as good as cake. After my article last week in which I challenged some of the clericalism that I see in…

The Bechdel test is a corrective that was thought up by comic book writer Alison Bechdel. The Bechdel test is a simple question – does this story have two named female characters who are speaking to each other about something other than a man? The idea is that a story that doesn’t pass the test…

I read recently that the normal expectation for salaried employees is right around 55 hours. This is up from the 40 hour work week that was deemed normative in 1940 by the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, it is down from what the government found in 1890. What they found then was that labor workers…

Tonight I’m getting together with some people at the LeBars’ house to talk about some of what Martin Luther was overheard saying to his students during some of the communal dinners that they shared together. These notes that record what Luther said can be pretty interesting – and were eventually combined into a compendium called…

I’m currently reading a book called “Smarter, Faster, Better” that is about how people get to be . . . well, those things – smarter, faster, and better. So far it’s interesting. If there is one predominant theme throughout the book, it is that if you want people to be smarter, faster, and better at…

Everyone gets writers block – and just like a good portion of the population of Florida State has Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease – I have writer’s block. So therefore, I present you with jokes.   “What’s wrong, Bubba?” asked the pastor. “I need you to pray for my hearing,” said Bubba. The pastor put…

Travelers and tourists – these words are synonyms for the most of us, but etymologically, they mean different things. A tourist is someone who literally “circles” an area, while a traveler is someone who “travails” in an area. The electrical workers of Gulf Power helping get Tallahassee up and working again are travelers, they are…

Last week I heard Mario, one of the elder statesmen of campus ministry at FSU, tell a story about an interaction that he had with one of the former pastors of University Lutheran. Laughingly he tells of being a new campus minister at FSU and making the rounds from ministry to ministry, introducing himself. Apparently…