My alma mater is about to tear down a building where I have some very fond memories — and from which I still have a scar — I found out this week that my alma mater, Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is going to tear down Howard Auditorium some time next year. I have written before about my complex relationship to ORU. I had a generally good experience there. I didn’t work hard enough, and didn’t…

An organization in which I’ve been involved for almost all of my adult life is entering an exciting new phase, and we need your support. — What is United Way? In its simplest form, United Way is a consolidated giving program, a way to make one contribution (or a recurring contribution) which will then be used to benefit a number of health and human service agencies. The agencies apply for funding, and then an allocations committee…

There is nothing like a home-cooked tamale, even if buying them seems like a clandestine affair sometimes. — I live in a small Tennessee town, and there’s a local, food-related Facebook group, formed during the pandemic in an effort to support some of our local restaurants. Someone posted a message to that group yesterday asking where a good place was to get tamales. I immediately commented “following” so…

There’s nothing wrong with fellowship, and several of us from my church have found it at a Mexican restaurant — Some months back — I’m not sure exactly when it started or how — a group from my church started going to La Rivera Mexican Cantina in Shelbyville for the weekly trivia night, organized by BrainBlast Entertainment. It was meant as just a fun night of fellowship — nothing specifically…

Kelley’s Chapel United Methodist Church, August 20, 2023 — Matthew 15:10–28 (CEB) Jesus called the crowd near and said to them, “Listen and understand. It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you…

What’s lactofermentation? Why should you care? — For most people, especially here in Tennessee Whiskey country, the term “fermentation” suggests alcohol. Alcohol is certainly the product of fermentation; yeast consume carbohydrates from grains or fruit juices and produce alcohol as a byproduct. But the term “fermentation” is much broader than that, and includes any use of microorganisms…

A chance encounter that made me smile — We’ve all had those fun, surprising chance encounters. You’re on vacation, halfway across the country, and you meet someone who lives two doors down from you back home. I had such an encounter today — not really that coincidental, if you think hard about it, since there was a good…

If you’ve tried banana soft serve, you know. If not, prepare for a revelation. — I’m about to give you the instructions for making a delightful frozen dessert. I guarantee you will love its creamy texture, like your favorite fast food or buffet soft-serve, and its simple, sweet flavor. Of course, you may need to do some shopping. To assist with this, I’m about to…

Tennessee-Western Kentucky United Methodist Annual Conference, Day 1 — “[T]he love of God,” said Dr. Ashley Boggan, “compels us to be weird.” The United Methodist Church is divided into administrative units called Annual Conferences. The term “annual conference” refers to the geographic region, its administration, and, of course, an annual event. Each Annual Conference is broken up into districts…