This issue came home to me in the following situation.  I consider myself a first-rate handy person.  (Actually, I think of myself as a handyman, but the other day when my son referred to the "postperson" I realized I would have to change my language.)  If things have to be done right (like wallpaper) then of course Margaret, my wife, does them, but rough jobs of plumbing, electrical wiring and carpentry are for me.  I will not admit that there is anything that I cannot do if I have the proper tools.   I was not always so skillful.  the first time Margaret decided that our roof needed to be re-shingled I happily agreed to call someone to do it.  However, she said we could not afford to hire someone and she would do the job herself if I did not have time.  Well, that was the purest blackmail.   Doubtless, a modern liberated male would simply smile and hand her the nails, but those of us who are gentlemen of the old school were taught to "thank God for … [Read more...]

  The fact is that the Presbyterian Church is in sharp decline for one simple reason -- church suppers have gone "down the drain."   When I was growing up, the real reason for becoming and remaining a Presbyterian (other than being eternally elect) was that their church suppers were the best in town.  The explanation of this situation wa obvious.  Reformed theology rejects the concept of "luck" -- including "pot luck" -- and, therefore, Presbyterian church suppers were predestined to be splendid.  I admit there is a one-dish exception, which is omnipresent, biblical and should be avoided.  In 2 Kings 4, Elisha serves a meal to the sons of the prophets and they complain, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!"  They could not eat it.  Devoting considerable research to this topic, I have established that death in the pot goes by the modern name:  tuna casserole.   According to John Mackay, the early Christian community was a koinonia before it … [Read more...]

  Preaching for conviction of sin included an invitation for those who wished to be saved to come forward -- a short but intense journey down the aisle known as the "sawdust trail."   In my pre-teen years, when agricultural rhythms dominated American consciousness, camp meetings were scheduled between planting and harvest time.  My mother's family owned one of the "tents" (actually a log cabin) near a still-existing Pickens county, Ala., Methodist tabernacle.  It was kept primitive out of nostalgic respect for a sterner time.  After attending all those Wesleyan sermons, even today I find my heart strangely predestined.   Since the cabins wee without electricity and running water, obviously there were no modern bathrooms.  However, there were little houses (if you will excuse the following term) behind each cabin, out in the woods and down the hill.  Some of these establishments were rather grandly appointed, able to accommodate an entire family or … [Read more...]

But what the heck, at 41st wedding anniversary doesn't come around every year and we Christians know a lot about sacrifice, don't we?   Of course I ate too much, and waddling out to the parking lot I asked Margaret to drive because I was feeling queasy -- I think from the raw onions.  Our return took us past some of the finest homes in the city, whose grounds swept from the road right up to the front door, and it was there the dreadful emergency occurred.  Needing to throw up, I opened the passenger side door and, hanging my head out, I biodegraded somebody's carefully manicured lawn.  Margaret, of course, was mortified, and I won't try to reconstruct what she said to me, but I don't think it was very romantic.  When I got my voice back I suggested our wisest course was to make a fast getaway.   She became completely speechless when I insisted we had to go back to the scene because while I was leaning over, my keys had fallen out of my shirt pocket.  … [Read more...]