Why I Still Believe People Can Change

Why I Still Believe People Can Change

I choose to believe in certain things. Like how the color of my socks impacts a college basketball game. Or how Duke’s mayonnaise is the only acceptable condiment for a proper tomato sandwich. I’m prone to believe my hair looks better on the second day...
Time Traveling: Inheriting Southern Seminary’s Past

Time Traveling: Inheriting Southern Seminary’s Past

I am a time traveler. I learned how from my great aunts, two sisters named Emmie and Minnie who lived in a home without electricity or indoor plumbing, built before the Civil War. On thin pillows and under thinner blankets, those two living oracles told me stories...
Serpents, Songs, and Meeting a Modern Southern Saint

Serpents, Songs, and Meeting a Modern Southern Saint

“You ever hear of the Alabama Astronaut, preacher?” The question came from the voice of a friend. We’d been having one of those conversations where the dogs get loose and chase every rabbit sprinting down your tongue. An hour on the phone with some folks can feel like...
The Final Graduation

The Final Graduation

I have spent much of my life sitting behind a desk in a classroom. I first did so at a Main Street Baptist church in my hometown. My tenure there was brief. One morning, I did what rural children do when they need to use the restroom: I dropped trou and went,...