How do we prepare for worship with a pandemic on, routines out of place, lots of folks — or not enough folks — underfoot, and America’s whiteness problem staring us straight in the face? That is the question we are facing today. Except, are we reading this Saturday...

The pious among us will say they had to be in worship this week. The events of recent days have been so overwhelming as to drive them to their knees in prayer. The less pious among us will wonder how they could muster the courage for worship this week. The events of...

In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy … (Acts 2:17a) I have a brother who is 17 months younger than I and a sister who is younger by five years. By the time we became...

When I was young, my family took a big vacation once every few years (or at least what we considered to be a big vacation). One of my favorite vacations was a road trip to Washington, D.C. Because trips like this were rare and we knew it was likely we may not go back...

This is a season of transitions for me, and I know I’m not alone in that. In worship this Sunday, we recognize our graduating high school seniors, who also find themselves in one of life’s most important transitions — playing out in the most unusual of times. Others...

Mother Mary is a woman worthy of remembrance, celebration and emulation. One tradition is the “May Crowning,” when little children make flower crowns and adorn statues of Mary to celebrate her life and leadership. I dig that. If ever there was a woman to remember it...

One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day. As much as I enjoy that movie, I am not enjoying how much my current reality seems to be mirroring that of Bill Murray’s iconic character, Phil, with every day seeming to be on an endless repeat. No matter how much déjà vu...

All my life, I’ve never not believed in God, but it’s taken almost 60 of my 80 years to believe in church. After discovering Wilshire 15 years ago, I hungered to know more about Jesus, Christianity, Baptists, the Bible and church. I’m still learning and grabbing...

This Sunday, April 19, is the Second Sunday of Easter on the liturgical calendar, and I would have found that peculiar as a child when we didn’t follow such calendars and Easter was a one-day event. Year after year we drove deep down into Southeast Texas to spend the...

Baptists aren’t leaders in liturgical innovation. In fact, we’re kind of spare in our worship rituals. We focus more on inner experience than outer ceremony. But we’re also human, and humans are incorrigible meaning-makers. At Wilshire, we’ve added a few splashes to...