No other hymn in the Christian repertoire originates from a poem about taking drugs. "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" was derived from a longer poem by Henry Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), a Quaker who was active in the abolitionist cause....
One of the most famous swords in history is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. It's called the Sword of Joyeuse and is reported to have belonged to Charlemagne. The irony is not lost on me that joyeuse in French means joyful, not a word I...
Desmond Thomas Doss (1919-2006) worked in the Naval shipyards of Newport News, VA at the outset of World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the army as a noncombatant, consistent with his Seventh-Day Adventist Church beliefs....
There's a monument on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC identifying John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1746-1807) as "The fighting parson of the American Revolution." The British disparagingly called patriotic pastors like Muhlenberg "the Black Robe...
The parents of Zbynek Zajic bought him the job of the Archbishop of Bohemia. You read that right. Zbynek's parents paid big money so their son could have a coveted church job. He had no qualifications for the position as he was an ex-soldier with...
I've prayed a long time for some people, seemingly, to no avail. Yet things aren't always what they seem. Jesus told his disciples a parable to reinforce his message to pray and never give up (Luke 18.1). The story of Monica (332-387) illustrates...
They were called Brethren of the Free Spirit. They were free spirits, all right. Since they had achieved perfect union with God, they were no longer subject to any human code of conduct. This led to all manner of deviant behavior. They also had no...
Emory University in Atlanta purchased and made public in 2014 the personal letters, private journals and literary drafts belonging to author Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964). It was enough to fill thirty boxes. One researcher said the disclosure would...
Americans voted her the most admired woman of the twentieth century. When the personal letters and papers of Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, were published in 2007, the book took everyone by surprise. Come, Be My...
The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) was sitting in a barber's chair in Wittenberg, Germany, one day in spring 1535 when his barber, Peter Baskendorf, asked, "Dr. Luther, how do you pray?" Martin took his question seriously. He went...
The Reformation leaders, Martin Luther and John Calvin 1509-1564) never met in person. When Martin nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, John was eight years old. John sent a letter to Martin through a mutual friend,...
It was the most popular sermon series in my forty-two years of preaching. Likely, it's because people identified with the "Life is Messy'' theme. Family relationships are messy. Work dynamics are messy. Friendships can be messy also.Life was messy...
Hymns trigger powerful emotions in me. "O Church, Arise," a contemporary hymn written by Keith and Kristyn Getty, is one of those reach-into-my-heart songs. When I sing the final stanza, "As saints of old still line the way, recounting triumphs of...
Today is Reformation Day, but who are we kidding? Today is Halloween! There's a division in the house among Christians as to the origins of Halloween. Some contend it has Christian roots since Halloween means "holy eve," the evening before All...
Dmitri of Rostov (1651-1709) died while praying. Literally! He was found dead in his monastic room, in a posture of kneeling. What a way to go! Dmitri was one of the outstanding preachers of the Russian Orthodox Church at the turn of the...
It may be the most successful fundraising speech ever given. Russell Conwell (1843-1925) delivered his "Acres of Diamonds" speech 6152 times over a span of fifty-five years. It is estimated that thirteen million people heard his speech. In 1882...
When I was a child in Sunday school, I couldn't understand all the fuss over idol-making. I had never met anyone who worshiped a golden calf, yet the first two commandments deal with idol-making. So, what's the problem? After a lifetime in...
Author Owen Barfield used to chide his agnostic literary colleague C.S. Lewis for "chronological snobbery" in his early years. Owen devised the phrase to describe the attitude that the present is superior to the past. Doesn't this same attitude...