Writings

Standing Tall So Kings Will Bow

Some wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking to find one who had been born King of the Jews. This was a gutsy question, considering they’ve come into the capital city of Herod the Great, who has been King over the Jews for more than thirty years. But the magi know that Herod,…

March 6, 2016
Better Grading for Better Learning

In this post, I share some suggestions and practices for grading that I have found to be helpful in online teaching. In the first section, I share a bit of my grading philosophy and how I communicate with students. Then I talk about the value of a clear grading philosophy and how to set yourself and…

February 15, 2016
Dwelling Among Us

Written as a brief reflection for the final 2015 issue of Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Connect:ED faculty newsletter. —- As I write this, I am sitting in my daughter’s room at St. Francis Children’s Hospital here in Tulsa. She was admitted yesterday with a severe eye infection requiring several days of antibiotics. For the fifth time in…

December 23, 2015
Feeding Sheep: The Final Benediction, pt.4

Previous Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 To the Leader “Do you love me? Feed my sheep,” asks Jesus of the one who would be his leader. The story closes with this familiar litany. Peter is still God’s man of the hour, still the chosen leader of the band. For Peter, for all the disciples, for all of…

September 17, 2015
The Great Piano Project, pt. 4

What I learned taking an antique upright piano apart to clean and restore the inside… Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Step 3: Cleaning Lower Case This post is not nearly as interesting as the others, but it is the next step in my project, so for the sake of chronology and archiving, here it…

September 5, 2015
Return of the King: The Final Benediction, pt. 3

Previous Parts: 1 | 2 “In the breaking of bread, fellowship is restored and the one that has denied, rejected, and fled is invited once again into the participation of the divine life.” The Meal There they are, Peter and these weary, defeated disciples. Maybe in their minds, former disciples. “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus says. In these…

September 1, 2015