Imagine taking a long bus trip (people still do that) and sitting next to someone who actually seems willing to have a conversation. About an hour of chit-chat along the way, the person turns to you and says, “Tell me your story.” What’s the first thing you’d say? Where would you start? Continue Reading →
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I recently turned that magical age of 65, where the social services part of our government suddenly becomes very important. When I think about my life at this point, I’m very aware that the thing I have most of is my past. It seems like aging is simply the rapid accumulation of the past through wanton spending of an ever-decreasing supply of the future. The question is, what do we do with the past we’ve accumulated? Is the past an asset or a liability? How do we draw on the past for good use? How can a poor use of the past hinder our present and our future? These are questions of increasing urgency to people my age—maybe any age. Continue Reading →
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We are a culture obsessed with assessment. In addition to physical assessments, these days, there are all kinds of tests to measure our personality, emotional state, intellect, productivity, and relational capacities. Do you know what we’ve never been able to find a tool to measure? Our wisdom. How do you know if you’re wise or not? Are you as wise as you need to be? In a time when we seem to admire people who speak their mind and do things their own way, are we admiring wisdom? How do we measure that? Continue Reading →
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In the past week, I’ve had two experiences that confirm a need to get a better grip on how I share what I think about current events. I was in what I thought was a normal conversation with someone I’ve known for a long time but don’t see very often. Somehow, we wandered into the territory of election season. Almost immediately, my friend amped up a few notches and went off on corruption and conspiracies and rigged elections. What caught me off guard was not the intensity or content of the comments, as much as it was the absolute confidence my friend had that he was talking with someone who naturally agreed with him. But frankly, I had no interest in keeping that line of conversation going. Continue Reading →
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How does the majority/minority dynamic affect our role as pastors and counselors? My thoughts below are focused on the context of ethnicity, but they could equally be applied to other situations—for example, where older persons receive ministry from younger counselors or pastors or single people are receiving care in a context where most people in the community are married. Continue Reading →
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