AnotherJohn.Com

A lot of the books I have were gifts because I was "just starting" as a minister. A few weeks ago I had thought about how that doesn't happen often anymore. Most people know I made it through school and that I've been at this for a little while now.  Well, last week I received these as a gift from a retired pastor! Now, I've made a couple of pilgrimages to Cokesbury ( which you know is closing, right? ) in the last couple of weeks.  So, I've got other stuff I'm trying to finish reading before I hit this stack.  Are you reading anything worth sharing/mentioning? By the way, today I was thinking how no one ever gives their pastor 70" TVs anymore.

What you may not know is that this is something most pastors do right before we leave the office for the worship service. ++If you're reading by email or news reader, click here to watch the video.++

Face it.  Thanksgiving is the middle child of holidays. People make a great fuss about Halloween.  Of course they do; it's the first-born.  First-borns make us "parents for the first time."  It's likely you've wrapped that statement in a prayer for your first-born.  You were teary-eyed when you said it, too.  Your other children all but wonder why you didn't affirm that obvious piece of information about them.  After all, they made you parents for the second and fifth time.  Likewise, Halloween inaugurates the holiday season.  It's like National Blueberry Popsicle Month doesn't exist.  Spooky costumes and candy corn have this strange way of prepping us for Christmas. And Christmas can do no wrong.  Duh!  The baby of the family gets away with everything.  You don't have to have a baby sibling to know that.  Just watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off again.  Everyone thinks the babies are so cute.  By t...

Would it comfort you to know that I wrote these short words days before the results of last night's election? I hope it does because I did so on purpose. For a variety of reasons, I tend not to share my political leanings. One of the advantages I feel I have is that I can offer a perspective that you can take as being thoughtful and, as best I'm able to, free from the usual tone of "my side vs your side" politics. Besides, I'm not convinced most people want to know who I vote for. I was called by the church to be a pastor, a preacher and reminder of the Gospel of our Lord. So, with that in mind... I'm anticipating the first time I'll hear the words. It'll probably be on Facebook! I first noticed them a few elections ago and have heard them every morning after the election since. What are those words?  Can you imagine someone saying this: "It's sad." Take a guess at who says that. I've never heard someone whose candidat...

If my kids were regular readers of this blog, I can guarantee you this would be their favorite post.  Truth be told, I think it's almost one of mine. I've thought before about how I want "to go."  Call it what you want: kick the bucket; taking a dirt nap; going to the big whatever in the sky.  I bet you've given it some thought, too. Of all the ways I have ever imagined I might bite the big one, this is one scenario that I'm sure wouldn't apply to any of us. Dinosaurs blown away by own farts, say researchers And you thought this was going to be uplifting.  Stay blessed...john