#good-elder

Copyright ©2019 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. As is my custom, I asked for a Word in preparation for a recent service, and shortly thereafter, found myself thinking about obsolete social traditions

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. One day, as I was contemplating my own personal journey, and my role in helping others along theirs, I came to realize that I haven't seen as much

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. Many who were raised in oppressive or economically disadvantaged environments were taught that getting an education always enables and empowers the

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. In recent weeks, I have come to see this period in history as a difficult period of transition, which I have likened to the proverbial "valley

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. In April, 1970, the Apollo 13 crew encountered a critical problem with the spacecraft, a problem that crippled their life support systems and which

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. In recent weeks, I've found myself both moved and inspired by fellow congregants who are pressing forward in the midst of grueling life challenges.

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. In the society in which we live, too many people (especially young people) are not properly taught (by parents, by the school system, etc.) to expect

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. After prayer one recent morning, an initial thought about the conspiracy between a corrupt leader (i.e. a master mind) and a group tasked to check

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. In June, 2018, took my family to see the recently released and long awaited sequel, "Incredibles 2". I enjoyed the movie very much, but

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. Earlier this month, I found myself considering the plight of someone close to me who was experiencing a crisis of confidence. As I observed this

Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved. One day, while contemplating the state of religion today, and, in particular, the proficiency of most practitioners to grasps and understand (or

Earlier this month, I was reflecting on a picture of a woman who was emotionally overwhelmed at a worship service. These reflections caused me to think about the emotional frenzy that many worshipers consider

A couple of weeks ago, I was conversing with a friend about a story in the Bible that is familiar to many religious people (which I will go into below). This story is often presented to the religious in

Increasingly in recent weeks, I find myself critically examining why so many religious folks are not actually religious at all. In other words, they can talk the talk, but just a relative few walk the

In my previous post entitled, Everyday Faith, I expressed my perspective of the oft-used but oft-misunderstood concept of faith as promulgated by prevailing religious thought. Among the tenets upon which

This notion of "having faith" often does not sit well with me when I hear it from most people, including religious people. It has become sort of a religious cliché stripped of real meaning and

Recently, I found myself pondering why it is that people cling onto things that are obsolete and even destructive. It is a tendency that is easily seen across the human experience. There is a difference

In my Congregation, the members (self included) have endured severe challenges over the past couple of years. To a person, everyone has been sick, had an operation, experienced the death of a loved one,

In recent days, I found myself contemplating a social media interaction with someone. I have known this person to be very zealous in his assertions and pursuits regarding God and spirituality. But, I found

Over the past week or so, I found myself offering the same advice to two different people. The central theme of the advice was the burden of worry that both people were carrying. Based on my life experience,