Inappropriate Conversations

Pentecost may be the most important celebration in the Christian calendar for me. It is also horribly under-regarded. Christianity recognizes Trinity: God interacting with creation in three primary and personal ways. One of those is through creation itself. Christ is another. What about the third?  When Christians talk about "God changing hearts and lives" they are referring to the Holy Spirit.  I've heard some people resist the notion that such a manifestation of deity could be called a person, but this is precisely how a relationship with God actually becomes personal.

Different Drummer: The Holy Spirit

Here's an Inappropriate Conversation about how to have an inappropriate conversation.  Things only grow when you shine your light on them.  Fair-skinned as my family is, though, how do I let the sun shine in without getting burned?  Even more important, I need to make sure the storyteller doesn't get in the way of the stories I need to tell.

Different Drummer: Allison Downing

http://www.simplysyndicated.com/

Few relationships are as complex as mother and child. Even from the first few days of life, a connection is evident that lasts a lifetime in the best circumstances. Family and friends have shared their grief in recent years at the death of mothers. It speaks volumes about what is missing when we feel so left behind.

Different Drummer: Corrie ten Boom

I don't put my faith in time, so in one sense there is no such thing as a decade. I also don't believe that trends start and stop exactly on a ten-year cycle. Most importantly, I don't believe we should make decisions based on "good old days" that never really existed. So, what do I believe in? Cause and effect, for one, and that understanding is completely consistent with my faith in God.

Different Drummer: Dede Allen

Here is an old saying I agree with: It is wrong to make “best” the enemy of “better.”  I’m on board with the argument that there never was a real Christian response to the Sexual Revolution in 1960s and 1970s America.  The reason is certainly a reckless refusal to compromise, even to the extent of shutting down discussion.

Different Drummer: David R. Mace

The story "Boiling Point" is a fable that functions like a parable about the true political spectrum. As opposed to locking into a partisan side of any issue by embracing "past truths," the story recommends a more open-minded and challenging approach. Truth must always be sought, no matter where the pursuit leads.

Different Drummer: Jon Stewart

America wastes an amazing amount of time arguing about "liberal" versus "conservative" as if those represent a meaningful range. Far from being the entire political spectrum, it's not even a slice of a pie-chart that must be understood if we intend to advance as a society.

Different Drummer: Jello Biafra

What does it mean to give up something for Lent? It's a Christian concept about preparing for Easter. That idea is consistent with adding the right type of thing as well, as an act of devotion. One of those Lenten undertakings from my past includes a part of a short story that could be titled "The Least Of These." The sermon within that story addresses themes in the heavy metal song "Godless" and indirectly asks a question: why not give up hate for Lent?

Different Drummer: Stephanie Davis

Are there biopics about Jesus worth seeing? Yes, just not many. Most films based on the gospels fail to live up to their source material. The worst have come from Hollywood -- no surprise there! One of the best was made by a Marxist homosexual whom the Vatican has denounced multiple times. Strange bedfellows, indeed. Odds are, you have never heard of my favorite. This dead genre experienced a resurrection in 2000.

Different Drummer: Jesus of Nazareth

March 20th is World Storytelling Day with the theme of Light and Shadow. Do we bring antagonists out of the shadow and into the light? Or, as a song by The Offspring discussed in its lyrics, do we "keep 'em separated"? Gangs don’t find peace by drawing boundaries; instead, those lines set the time and place for violence. Less overtly, when large parts of our society engage in quiet violence – denial of one another’s “right to exist” – it stops us from becoming the people we are all meant to be.

Different Drummer: Gordon Gano