Between the Lines

Anytime I am asked what my favorite kind of cake is, I don't even have to think because there is only one answer... birthday cake. Not just any kind of birthday cake, but cake that is topped with as much buttercream icing as humanly possible! The cake is of course a delicious, occasional treat, but it is also a fun way to acknowledge the celebration that is taking place, another year of life! Another year of experiences, relationships, and growing. Thankfully, the Church is not absent of such a celebration.  This Sunday marks the Church's celebration of Pentecost.  Pentecost is a celebration that is always 50 days after Easter, and it marks the end of the Easter season. It commemorates the events recorded in Acts 2 where God sent the Holy Spirit to fill the disciples of Jesus. This is important because it marks the “birth” of the Church and how people from all over the world began to be invited into the family of God. Typically, the day is highlighted by wearing red, images of...

Over the last ten weeks the sanctuary at First Baptist Monroe has sat dormant. Though we haven't been worshiping in that space, worship has continued via a more intimate setting in our church's choir room beamed up into airwaves for people to participate in on all manner of personal devices. I have missed being able to gather with our folks there, and when I walk through it now, something is definitely missing. It is a vast understatement to say the COVID-19 pandemic has overturned our very way of life. Restrictions on work, retail, recreational, and social activities have hit us all hard. Like a two year old toddler, the first instance or two of being told "no" might slip right by us, but after repeated denials, that opposition often grows into anger-filled defiance before generating fits of rage-fueled outbursts. It happens. Churches are no stranger to this as the recent push to allow congregants to gather in NC has made its way through the court system. ...

The first time I put on my mask to enter a store, I have to say it felt...awkward. I fumbled with the right way to tie the ends, where the top knot should sit on my head, and how low was too low for the lower set? I took a moment to pull and push to make sure it covered the right portions of my face, and acknowledged the slight itch that came from the mask pushing against my beard. And for some strange reason, I suddenly wondered if this is what it was like for a person who was about to enter a store with the intention of robbing it? Weird, I know. I never would have guessed the act of putting on a mask would illicit such strange thoughts, but again, this was my first time in such a scenario.   As a child, the idea of it being socially acceptable to wear a mask all day would be seen as a godsend ( of course that would require it be the applicable favorite superhero of the moment ). Yet now, it feels more like a responsibility rather than fun. A responsibility to myself, to my ...