partsofspeaking

Virtue signalling on Facebook, or Christians who do spout cliches about prayer, or  The fact we have all become so identified with random political views,or That one mentally ill man's actions are seen as everyone's fault. I do know what's worse, far worse, of course, that  in ten days we have had two mass shootings and one of them involve small, mostly Hispanic children (and the killer the same, so probably not racially motivated) and the other clearly racist. All we can do is mourn right now, and then do something--not anything, but something constructive. Let the families mourn before trying to make yourself look good on social media. (And so many of those people have gone on to something else...) Horrifying, and we must change something. It's not about the second amendment, it's about too many guns in the hands of too many people who shouldn't have them.   I figure few people read this, so I say what I think. 

  Leaf Filter guy telling people how to live their lives. Could these commercials be any worse?

 The report about sexual abuse (and more, the ways leadership tried to cover it over) in the Southern Baptist Convention dropped today. It's bad.  No way around it.  Very bad. Will it cause a bleeding of members? Well, that's another question; there's been a bleeding since COVID, but that's a different reason. That was a bleeding of the noncommitted. This will be a bleeding of the concerned and in some cases horrified.  But losing members (and money) is not the first question to ask. That is, how do we repent, find justice, and ensure this behavior ends?  Each of us will have to consider our response. I don't want to write things about how statistically the number of abuse cases is pretty small and not representative of the denomination of 16 million.  That is nonsense; the correct number should be 0. And while that is probably unrealistic from a human standpoint, that in a group of 16 million there would be no cases of sexual abuse, the "statistics" are o...

I recommend.  It's not perfect (a ridiculous standard; would we know perfect if we saw it?), but the songs will wear you out emotionally. Yes, the main character is easy to dislike for all his lies, and I don't think having social anxiety disorder excuses that. And it's preachy sometimes. But it really develops mental health themes well.  Julianne Moore's song will stop your heart. "Requiem" brought up painful memories from a half century ago. And this line is mine:  "The parts we can’t tell we carry them well but that doesn’t mean they’re not heavy." It doesn't make sense here, but in context it does.  Addendum May 21. I do have to add that some of the aspects mental illness have to be interrogated. Evan says more than once that he is broken. He feels that way; I would argue he isn't (see past blog post).  And while we are encouraged to have compassion on those who deal with mental illness themselves, I would recommend th...

 Tuesday is the last day of primary voting in Georgia. I wasn't sure I would be allowed to vote (long story) but I was, in my former county, same district.  It's District 14. Y'all know why I was keen to vote. I voted against craziness, embarassment, incompetence, and meanness.  I also helped out the man who gave me a hefty raise, ha, ha, and a former football player. No names here.  Georgians will figure it out.  I proudly wear my voter sticker. 

When I get a text message from a candidate, that's strike one. When it says they are "Trump Backed" or "pro-Trump" that is strike three.  I vote for issues and character, and I don't need more texts!

 That was a tag line, I think, for a comedy show back in the day. But I was thinking about my last post and recent experiences and needed to change gears. Some of my posts are polemical and can come off judgmental or dogmatic; I suppose there is a place for it, but as the end of I Corinthians 12 says to introduce the 13th chapter, "Yet I tell you of a more excellent way." Someone on FB posted a Frederick Buechner quote, something like: Faith is walking in the direction of love. And I realized I didn't write enough about love, and God's love, here.  Unconditional love means someone will keep loving you whatever you do. I would add, and this is an unwieldy term, noninstrumental love. Love that loves the other because of one's choice to do so, not because of any reward or benefit or usage to oneself.  If someone says "I love you because of what you do for me," that would be instrumental love.  It may not to be possible for most of us to love that way; I...

This may or may not be a highly controversial post. I write it a little bit tongue in cheek, a little bit to get hits, but mostly I write it with compassion. Those who have chosen abortion should be understood, not condemned. I was holding a conference once with a student who burst into tears and said her parents had recently forced her to have an abortion (this was in the '90s). I suspect that is far, far more common than anyone can imagine. And, I do resent men getting outside their lane on the matter of the pregnancy experience.  I think every pregnant woman faces that moment when she realizes something terrible and fatal could happen in the pregnancy and birth process.  It might be fleeting and highly unlikely, but it's real. So, read on, and don't say I didn't warn you. There is a big blue bulletin board message (it's one of those that changes) in East Ridge, TN, visible to those coming into Chattanooga from the south. It is sponsored by Planned Parenthood and ...

 I'm thinking a lot about this concept of brokenness. I think we misunderstand it, throw it around as a cliche, use it as a vague excuse for sub-par living. I don't read that we are broken in Scripture. I read are sinners, and even more to the point, we sin. We exploit others and the actions of others can exploit us. Broken implies no choice or agency on anyone's part, no accountability for what we do. Broken applies passivity. Broken begs the question, "okay, can we be fixed?" Well, can we?  The New Testament has a different vocabulary for our identity. We sin (whether because we are innately sinful from birth or by choices, or a combination, take your pick), we are redeemed by mercy and grace, we grow in Christlikeness if we choose to do so, and in eternity we are remade into His image. No talk of "brokenness." Second, does brokenness come from a moral failure on our own parts? Or from a tragedy we had no part in? Or from someone's exp...

Yes! Dialogues with Creators , an honest-to-goodness podcast is now live.  It's on Stitcher and all the rest, except (for now) Apple podcasts.  My schedule Episode 1, May 1:  Jerry Drye, Part 1 (on humor, storytelling, teaching, and creativity) Episode 2, May 8: Jerry Drye, Part 2 Episode 3, May 15: Ryan Reece, Part 1 (on filmmaking and screenwriting) Episode 4, May 22: Ryan Reece, Part 2 Episode 5, May 29: Amber Lanier Nagle, Part 1 (freelance writing) Episode 6, June and following..... :  Amber Lanier Nagle, Part 2 Episode 7: Kenyon T. Henry (getting into writing and starting a conference) Episode 8: Chad Daniel (theatre, performance, and creation) Episode 9: Renea Winchester (Southern women, writing, and living as a writer) Episode 10: Luke Manget (Appalachian history and ginseng)

https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/why-compassion-is-divisive?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNzExNjU1NywicG9zdF9pZCI6NTMxNzA5MjksIl8iOiJLOGk2ayIsImlhdCI6MTY1MTQxMzg1OSwiZXhwIjoxNjUxNDE3NDU5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjE3NjUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.atkZPqYJ_nm4PqMw9VX51bZ1jKyi55ae_IRhqjD0Bpw&s=r Why is this a must read? Because he says better than I what I want to say. And because it rocked my world this morning.  I am playing hookey from church this morning, without any real reason but fatigue and a perceived need to meditate and reflect (and conserve gas money, as I drive 25 miles to get there x 2 x 3.54 per gallon and use 2.5 gallons!). I am reflecting on cliches, and he addresses one right off the bat: More people would come to Christ if everyone in the church acted like Christ and really followed his teachings. I've always doubted that, although my saying so is by no mean a defense of living in an unChristlike way. We are to model Christ fully because it is what God wants, not a pu...