73 Miles on the Katy Trail
This is a little off topic for this blog, but my Dad and I have made regular bike trips on the Katy Trail in my home state of Missouri, and we took a shorter trip at the end of September. If you're curious what it looks like, you can watch the video below.
The Challenges of Being Second in Leadership
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
Trust among leaders working together is a garden that needs constant tending. Any gardener will tell you a garden left alone will be a mess eventually: there’s tending, weeding, cultivating, and fertilizing to do. Trust between leaders is the same way: trust will only function with work. I’ve seen pastors working together who grow to resent . . .
A Vote for Thoughtful Leaders
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
Here in the United States we’re gearing up for the Presidential election season, which really never seemed to stop in the first place. Already news reports are weighing the candidates' poll numbers and debate performances. “He’s vulnerable here,” “She’s had a strong debate,” “He can’t shake this negative perception.” These are the . . .
Who is First?
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
I remember a winter day in the fifth grade. We were playing kickball in the warmth of the school gym. If you kicked the ball above a certain line on the back wall it was counted a home run. When I was up to kick I booted it hard over the class and into the home run zone. As I ran around the bases I held my hand above my head with my . . .
The Admission of Priests
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
I referenced this a few weeks ago: Will Ferrell, playing Ron Burgandy in Anchorman proclaims, “I don’t know how to put this, but I am kind of big deal.” You know the attitude: I’m impressive and you should notice my impressiveness. We’ve all seen it and exhibited it. Benedict leaves no space, though, for this attitude. He has room for . . .
Needed: Snotty-Nosed Kids
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
Last summer I asked a Trappist monk about their keeping of the Benedictine Rule. “We think of ourselves as reformed Benedictines,” he told me, with a more strict keeping of the Rule. The only exception, he noted, was the presence of kids in the monastery. Benedict uses chapter 59 for instructions on the handling of youth who are offered . . .
Renovations
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
This week builders are remodeling my church’s kitchen. The 60’s era decor is going out, and a new, bigger kitchen is being built. The first thing the builders did was gut the place. They ripped out old cabinets. They pulled out the old sink. The gross dirty carpet was pulled up, and they removed the 1960’s ceiling. They knocked down a wall. . . .