(Thanksgiving Sermon, 2017) Text–Numbers 11:4-6 We call the day, “Thanksgiving,” but I think we have forgotten the point. I was on-line yesterday and searched for “Thanksgiving Day” and “God”—I got 3 million results. “Thanksgiving Day” and “pilgrims” got fewer than 700,000. “Black Friday” got over 53 million. We keep the holiday on the calendar, but…

We approach another Thanksgiving Day, and I think few understand the point. It is not supposed to be about sales, nor eating, nor even thanking other people—it’s about acknowledging God and praising him for his steadfast love. That’s what George Washington had in mind in 1789, when, in response to a request from Congress, he…

Text: John 4:5-15 A few years ago, the Associated Press carried this story: By Day 2 in the blazing Utah desert, Dave Buschow was in bad shape. Pale, wracked by cramps, his speech slurred, the 29-year-old New Jersey man was desperate for water and hallucinating so badly he mistook a tree for a person. After…

In April 2016 I took part in the “Pathways to Military Chaplaincy” consultation at Boston University.  “The purpose of this consultation,” said the advertisement, was “to assist left-of-center and progressive seminaries in preparing military chaplains for the 21st century.” Chaplains and representatives of endorsing agencies were also invited.  It was clear, though, that we were not…

As a chaplain, I sometimes feel like Rodney Dangerfield. We often don’t get respect—particularly from ministerial colleagues. Some see us as pastoral failures who became chaplains because we “couldn’t make it” in the congregation. Some see us as having “left the ministry”—I’ve heard that several times, from other pastors and from church administrators. But chaplains are pastors. We are…