My all-time favorite novel is Jane Austen’s Persuasion, first published in 1818. It tells the story of 27-year-old Anne Elliot, the daughter of an English baronet. When she was nineteen, Anne...

Like many Presbyterian pastors, I lead a congregation where older members far outnumber the younger ones. Some of them need canes and walkers to navigate their way to worship now. Others...

As Christians, we each need to make a conscious effort to discover what God calls us to do. God’s call isn’t the same for everyone, and it is only through prayerful...

For me the most joyful moments of hiking are walking along the ridgelines of the mountains that surround where I live in southwestern Virginia. They often follow sheets of rock outcropping...

For many the season of Lent provides a framework to work out a spiritual goal, such as establishing a more regular prayer life, giving oneself in service, or choosing to fast....

Many people find spending time outdoors peaceful and rejuvenating. Hiking is a way I have found to engage in nature and spend time in prayer. Not all long distance hikers are...

On Ash Wednesday Psalm 51 launches us into a Lenten journey that seeks to recover the identity God has given to each of us. Lord knows in the course of settled...

For many American Christians, living one’s faith is more a matter of appreciating the benefits of being a member of a congregation than it is an enterprise that makes spiritual and...

On long hiking trails, such as the Appalachian Trail, one finds people who go out of their way to help the hikers, offering food and drink at a trail head, a...

Human beings have strong impulses to maintain pleasure and avoid pain. Peter is a human being. As a part of the electrifying, life-changing public ministry of Jesus, Peter has been on...