Gary's Blog One Pastor's Life in Words

I was the second to the last installed pastor at Central Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio.  On November 20, 2011, the last service of worship was held in that 151 year old building by that congregation that was founded in 1839.   I participated that service along with my successor and my predec

[A story from my time as a pastor in downtown Columbus:] He wanted milk with the sandwiches I had given him.  I had offered him lemonade, soda, and orange juice.  But he wanted a glass of milk.  When he drank it, it left a mustache on his upper lip.  After a moment, he wiped it … Read more

I remember asking a seminary friend once, “So, where are all the prophets these day?”  It sounds like a pretty dopey question now.  But his almost instantaneous answer still makes me chuckle with a bit of chagrin.  “So, where are all the prophets these day?”  My friend: “In mental hospitals mostly.”

In 2012, two important Christian holy days occur in May – important Christian holy days that Presbyterian Christians have tended to be uncomfortable with.  I’ll explain that statement, shall I?  The two holy days are Ascension and Pentecost.  First the easy part, I say these holy days take place in

Exodus 34:29-35 There is, in this passage, an interesting small but important detail that I have never really noticed before.  It lies behind the widely recognized, though certainly bizarre, fact that Moses’ face acquired an intense radiance as a result of close time spent in the physical presence o

This sermon is the last of a series of sermons that I preached from the “I Am” passages in John’s gospel.  It is the last in the series, but it is the first that I’m posting to my blog.  I suppose the main reason I’m putting this one up first is that I want to … Read more

In a theological context, a mystery is not a puzzle to be solved but rather a truth that exceeds the rational capacity of human beings.  Certainly, the top of the list of mysteries in the Christian faith is the doctrine of the Trinity.  The doctrine of a Triune God is crucial to the Christian faith;

The Christian faith is not merely a set of ideas or concepts that adherents are meant to affirm intellectually; rather it is a living relationship with a living Being.  If this series of sermons were to lead anyone to the notion that the Christian faith is simply about an intellectual decision to ag

Luke 1:11-13 The archangel Gabriel says something strange to Zechariah here — something I’ve never really recognized as strange until I just read this passage again for the two-hundred-eighty-third time.  Gabriel tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard and, as a result, Elizabeth is going to

Following on the theme of the previous installment in this series, here I look deeper into the nature of humanity, the image of God, and gender.  As the preaching of this series worked out, I had not been planning on including this topic here in the series.  But after a passing reference to the natu