The Flatpicking Pilgrim's Progress

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God hung the stars brighter than the sun to illuminate the darkness. And sent one life into the world to do the same. If we can comprehend it, understand that life, receive it, we can, said John in his gospel, be the very sons and daughters of God. If not, we’ll just stumble around with our flashlights, trying to find our own pitiful way and cursing the darkness that God would gladly dispel for us...

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Beginning this week, I have additional content available for subscribers only. It only costs three dollars per month to download and access audio books, audio articles, music, and lots more! Unsubscribe anytime you need those three dollars for something else. It kicks off with my chapters from ENCOUNTERING GOD IN THE PRAYERS OF OTHERS. For a sample, I've included here the chapter on Howard Th...

Dr. Howard Thurman (1899 – April 10, 1981) rose from the segregated south of his childhood to become an author, philosopher, theologian, educator and civil rights leader. He was Dean of Theology and the chapels at Howard University and Boston University.  In 1953 Life magazine) rated Thurman among the twelve most important religious leaders in the United States.              He was a deeply spirit...

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A prize hog named Brad Pitt and, two drunken troublemakers out for a joyride meet karma head-on. A Christmas story quite unlike any other in the mythical town of Mount Nebo,, where progress goes to slow down. Support the show

We could use a good story right now. Here's one about a young preacher in a little country church, a long time ago and a long way from here, in a church without much promise and in need of help. It might be just the story you need today. Support the show

A fourth grade game of tag and a phone call from a desperate teenager provide moments of insight about empathy for another person's suffering. Who knew that life or death could be having in the balance during the Wommen's Missionary tea party? Support the show

A young college student has to wait to preach his sermon until the church has a fight. Lessons from a country church a long time ago about how to deal with conflict and how real community happens. Just a stone's throw from where Dolly Parton grew up. Support the show

A 12th century Irish text found its way into a folk tune by a Methodist preacher. Amid the shallowness of our time, the longing for the deep place where the strands of our live seek union, we find "the soul's desire."  Support the show

A reflection on that terrible day, now a whole student generation removed from us. Support the show

"So, where are you from? " A weird town name, a wheel from a child's wagon, and a homeless family in a station wagon. Finding a place for you. Support the show

A story about healing leads to reflections on loneliness and community. As much as the physical trauma of being sick is the pain of isolation and being cut off from life. Support the show

I do an inventory of my childhood toys, and the meaning of play, both for children, and for people who used to be! Support the show

Memorials matter. Every Memorial Day, I remember a fallen marine's mother and the song we wrote. To remember is a sacred responsibility. This is our price for living on the shoulders of others' suffering. Support the show

There's a lot of automation in our world today, but life is not always automatic. A lesson learned in driver's ed back in high school. A 2x4 full of nails and an oncoming car. What will a 16-year-old novice driver do? Support the show

On the Via Dolorosa a frustrated man in a wheelchair sent a tourist home with a miracle story. Or was it?   Maundy Thursday sits in that thin place between miracle and magic. Support the show

In the waiting room, we are all the same...fear stops by in the morning and pops back in when you least expect it...people have truly different ideas of what the phrase, "dress appropriately" means...nothing starts when it is scheduled and why things go on longer than you were told. Support the show

Preachers are like manure. When you spread us out, we can do a lot of good.  But when you pile us up all together it can be almost unbearable. On a preachers tour to Israel I found out why. Support the show

Pilgrim or a tourist? Two different ways of visiting an unfamiliar place or a different way of life. Both have their place. The pilgrim has a different task.  Two ways of living a life, two different ways of seeing others. Support the show

Rummaging through an estate sale provides Gary with surprisingly rich insights into life and death. “How do you reduce a life to a single sentence, especially a sentence that will fit on a marble slab determined by the proceeds from your estate sale?” Support the show

I went by Cousin Hugh Carter's store. I asked him, "Does President Carter ever come around out here in town?"  "Why, sure," he said. "He rides his bike around town sometimes. WELL, THERE HE IS NOW!" And there went President Carter, on a bicycle, and right behind him four Secret Service agents on bikes, followed by a van full of Secret Service Agents. Support the...