by David Anderson
“I was playing golf with a friend,” the man said to me yesterday. “And he said—it must’ve been at the 14th hole, I think—he said, ‘John, do you believe in hell?” He put the club down and asked why such a question. The friend explained that his daughter had been blessed with her first baby, […]
by David Anderson 9 Comments Filed Under: Faithfulness, Fear, Grace, Love
The single challenge of life is change. We don’t like it, yet we know it is the only constant. Every day we get up and . . . things have changed. Nothing is where we left it last night. Not the kids, not the dog, not the roses in the garden. Everything we had just […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Change, Faith/Trust, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
We are living in a time when the standard versions of religion are losing their appeal. The spirituality offered by these traditions seems small and niggling. Whatever is intended, the message people are getting is mostly about who’s got the truth and who doesn’t, who belongs inside the circle and who doesn’t, who’s having the […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Faith in Action, Freedom, Grace, Happiness, Justice/Peace, Uncategorized
One of my least favorite childhood memories is playing baseball. The neighborhood kids would gather on Saturday morning to play baseball. And then the dreaded part. Choosing up sides. There would be two captains—and who chose these people? I guess we all knew who the best players were, and they couldn’t be on the same […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Grace, Love
Yesterday was the commemoration of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was martyred for his opposition to the Nazis. He considered taking refuge in the United States, where he was teaching, but he returned to Germany to continue his work in the resistance. He was arrested April 5, 1943 and imprisoned in Berlin. Three days […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Faith in Action, Faithfulness, Grace, Letting Go, Surrender
Ashley Makar, who guest posts today, is a friend of my daughter, Sharon. Sharon sent me Ashley’s story–a 33 year-old woman with esophogeal cancer, and Pam and I read it together. Well, Pam tried to read it but could not make it through for the tears. It’s a beautiful testament to the power of love […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Grace, Healing, Prayer/Meditation
10. No one will kill you for not drinking Beer. 9. Beer doesn’t tell you how to have sex. 8. Beer has never caused a major war. 7. They don’t force Beer on minors who can’t think for themselves. 6. When you have a Beer, you don’t knock on people’s doors trying to give it […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Grace
On Saturday I preached the funeral of a great man. Doug McArthur was the Treasurer of Trinity Church in Solebury, Pennsylvania, where I was privileged to minister for eleven years. As I reflected on why Doug had been such a powerful influence in my life, I realized that he was a grand father. He […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Faithfulness, Family, Fear, Grace, Love