Eighteen years ago, sociologist Robert Putnam published Bowling Alone a book-length essay describing one of the most dangerous phenomena of our time. The title comes from the observation that while bowling is still a popular sport in America, fewer bowlers bowl in leagues and more bowlers bowl alone. Putnam’s point, of course, is not about trends in bowling. His point, well-illustrated, is that we spend less time with one another than ever before. Locked in our houses, glued to our screens, we are not only alone, but lonely.  We have lost “social capital,” the one-another resource that nurtures, strengthens, and encourages a healthy person, family, and culture. We weren’t meant to be alone.

Robert Putnam was examining American society. But the contagion of loneliness does not stop at the church door. The infection of loneliness in the church makes for anemic Christians and weak witness.

We weren’t meant to be alone (see Genesis 2:18). And that’s why I love Thursday evenings. Continue reading →

I was awake early on Monday morning, and, yes, I checked my social media feed early.  My friend Rich had just posted.

5:30 Major gas explosion just behind my house at 4:45am. Flames, no exaggeration, hundreds of feet in the air. We’ve been evacuated, together with the whole street. All OK, including kids, cats, bunnies, etc. Prayers appreciated!

Rich is a pastor and a good friend and valued colleague.  What was this about?  I went over to my news feed, and, sure enough, there were early reports of a major incident just across the Ohio River from Beaver, PA, where Becky and I had lived for ten years.  You may read a news report here.  Short story is that too much rain led to a mudslide and the mudslide took out a newly installed 24-inch gas pipeline and gas explodes.  Thirty houses were evacuated, among them Rich’s and his family’s.  No one was injured, though property was lost. Fortunately, not Rich’s.

On Tuesday, Rich posted again.  It was a thanks for all the expressions of support, but more. As he does so well, Rich looked at things from the perspective of a well-lived life. Continue reading →

Final exams this week. What? The school year has just begun!

One of the very last steps in our journey to denominational realignment is the examination of our elders – and of me – by committees of the Presbytery of the East, EPC.  Our elders will be examined by members of the Church Development team at LPC on Wednesday evening, and I am scheduled for a conference call exam by the Ministerial Committee on Monday evening.

It ought to be fun in a way that only final exams can be fun. Continue reading →

It sounded a lot like “we’ve always done it that way” the first time I heard about it.  Ten years ago, I was new at LPC, and then, like now, “we’ve always done it that way” set me against the idea whatever it was.

On Sunday we will celebrate the eleventh Annual Labor Day Weekend Shared Worship Service with First Baptist Church since I’ve been here.  The event with its not memorable name has been around for much longer than ten years. Twenty years?  Thirty years?  I don’t know. We’ve always done it.

Of course, I was going to do what I needed to do to help make the ALDWSWSFBC as good as they said it always had been. That didn’t mean that I had to like the idea.

Then I met Luke. Continue reading →

No one will accuse us of being early adopters. Three years later, the church has joined 600 million users of the Windows 10 Operating System. We’re in the midst of a computer upgrade in the church office which includes new hardware and software.  Good-bye, Windows 7 and welcome Windows 10. Our upgrade also includes the newest edition of the Microsoft Office – Office 2016 first introduced in 2015. Pretty cutting edge of us. And, yes, we know there will be church controversy over our continued refusal to switch to Apple. We ask only for mutual forbearance.

I’ve been thinking about this new OS, operating system, and the software update. Apple aficionados, keep reading (and, yes, Snow Leopard, Mountain Lion, El Capitan, High Sierra, and Mojave are much cooler names than 7 or 10 – and let’s not talk about Vista). Continue reading →