Monthly Archives: August 2018

Of Witches, Flying Monkeys, and Munchkins

  When I mentioned I was doing a series on the Wizard of Oz, I got a very common reaction from people—that movie scared me to death. Whether it was the Wizard, who really scared me, or the Wicked Witch … Continue reading

Posted in Evil, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Musings, Preaching, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Wizard of Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Very Bad Wizard

  One of my favorite movies is Bruce Almighty.  In one scene Bruce encounters God, who encourages Bruce to pray. Bruce prays. “Lord, feed the hungry, and bring peace to all of mankind.:” he turns to God and asks, “How’s … Continue reading

Posted in Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Healing, Musings, Preaching, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Wizard of Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Beams of New Oxford Hall

I love a good story, and this is one of my favorites. I first read it in Stewart Brand’s The Next Whole Earth Catalog. It was told to him by the anthropologist Gregory Bateson. New College, Oxford, is of rather … Continue reading

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A Heart, and “Da Noirve”

The two boys were a bit different from the other parishioners, even from the other kids in the church. One was 15, the other was 17. They were both in a band. There were both on the cutting edge of … Continue reading

Posted in Compassion, Courage, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Intelligence, LGBT, Micah 6"8, ministry, Musings, Preaching, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Wizard of Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

If I Only Had a Brain

Third in a series of sermons on the Wizard of Oz. This week we are looking at the Scarecrow, and the need to be thinking Christians.   I was a young Christian, trying to figure things out, and I was … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Church Growth, Intelligence, ministry, Musings, Preaching, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Wizard of Oz, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Queer Eye for the Christian Guy

When I gave my life to Christ in 1975 there was a lot of clean up I had to do to follow God the way I really wanted to. I invited Christ into my life, and the next thing I … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Church Growth, Conversion, Healing, Musings, Queer Eye, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Transformation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments