Living in West Virginia, the sight of three crosses on a hillside—the center painted gold, flanked on each side by a pale blue one—is a common sight. However, until I attended a presentation recently by a Marshall University professor, I didn’t know much about the fascinating story behind them. David Pittenger, dean of MU’s graduate…
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Fertilizer. I guess it’s been on my mind a lot this summer as I have surveyed the pathetic output of our side-yard garden. In the past, we often picked tomatoes into October. Not this year. It’s the worst I’ve seen in an on-and-off practice of nearly 40 years. I could say we plucked a dozen…
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With the megachurch movement alive and well—and forecast to see even bigger growth—it is easy to get enthralled with numbers in church life. Namely, the bigger we are, the better. I have discovered that isn’t always the case. Case in point was the recent monthly worship gathering of an interdenominational group that sponsors regular spiritual…
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The recent marital separation of bestselling author Joshua Harris — whose 1997 book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, propelled him to national fame—didn’t raise too many eyebrows. Sadly, divorce is too common in our world to cause a kerfuffle. However, when Harris followed soon after with an announcement that he was walking away from his faith…
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Two more crimes were committed last week in full view of millions of Americans. Yet no one will be arrested or charged with any violations. I refer to the latest round of Democratic presidential debates, which began in late June—more than 16 months ahead of the 2020 election. I know I’m not the only one…
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The world recently marked the 50-year anniversary of the first moon walk by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. For me, it was also a major event, for two reasons. First was the trip down Memory Lane. Armstrong hailed from Wapakoneta, Ohio, just 15 miles south of my hometown of Lima. At the time, a…
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Nearly three years ago, our city of Huntington, West Virginia made national headlines after 26 people overdosed on fentanyl-laced heroin in one afternoon. Given the negative image that accrued from such notice, it was heartening to see a mid-June follow-up report on 60 Minutes. It spotlighted the efforts since that have registered significant progress in…
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With our church in the process of launching small groups as a way of building more community on our congregation, I’ve been thinking lately about the need for such closeness. In his sermon about this initiative, our pastor read from Acts 2:42-47, the classic case study for authentic church growth. Especially the last two verses…
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Earlier this year, when gas mysteriously rose toward the three-dollar-per-gallon level, I grumbled a little. That is, until I remembered that it hasn’t been that many years since I figured petrol would never dip below the three-dollar-level again. Then it started dipping, followed by most welcome news a month ago that prices were set to…
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We’re just one week away from the Fourth of July and our nation’s 243rd birthday. I admit it: I’m an old softie when it comes to celebrating the United States of America and what it has meant to the world. That said, I was never a fan of such slogans as “America: Love it or…
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