I was born in the summer of 1959, the same week that The Chiefs professional football team was born. It was conceived in Dallas by Lamar Hunt; the name on their birth certificate was Dallas Texans. The next year, when I was starting to crawl and walk and fall, they were playing their first season […]
When America’s housewife, the famous columnist Erma Bombeck, contemplated life beyond death, she said that she wanted to appear before God’s throne displaying all her wounds and scars, hobble up to the Lord and turn her empty pockets inside-out to show that she didn’t hold anything back, that she used everything that was entrusted to […]
I think that the way we drive says a lot about the way we live. Many motorists on our roadways are aggressive drivers; some go to extremes and become angry drivers or even suffer road rage. Others claim to be competitive but not aggressive drivers who fiercely reach their destination by outsmarting others in their […]
I remember being at a Martin Luther King Day celebration decades ago when many well-meaning people, mostly whites who wanted to make a statement against racism, wore T-shirts bearing the words: “I am color blind.” The keynote speaker, Alvin Brooks, challenged the audience to not be color-blind but, rather, to be color-sensitive, to not only […]
Among the numerous contributions that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) has given to our nation and world is the simple yet profound message that we, by our mere existence, have an obligation—and simultaneous privilege—to make our community a better place to live, learn, work, and worship. As children of the earth and children […]
“There’s a legend that’s known both here and afar, ‘bout a belief that we have in a magical star; Wise Men were overwhelmed but what would they bring, as the star came to rest over the newborn king!” Local citizens are sometimes surprised to learn that there are places within Kansas City that are not […]
Seinfeld fans can readily recall the Festivus episode in which, among other things, George decided that instead of giving coworkers a costly wrapped Christmas present for the mandatory office holiday exchange, he would gift them with a contribution card to a charitable cause. It was to a charity that he invented and called The Human […]
The poem below, by an anonymous author, entitled, ‘Twas the Night Before Jesus, will seem rather corny to some readers, including me, but the underlying message is significant. Sometimes we want the resurrection without the crucifixion, the incarnation without the struggles of living, the wood of the crib without the wood of the cross, the […]
Hamilton W. Mabee once said: “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” It’s a wondrous scene in urban parishes each December as numerous inner-city residents line up at churches to receive cart loads of groceries and/or gifts to share with loved ones in their humble dwellings during the […]
The Rite of Baptism for Christians begins with parents stating the name of their child. This ancient tradition gives identity to the beloved baby human. Proverbs, 22:1, states: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; a family’s high esteem has greater value than gold.” Some have suggested that this identity is only meant […]
UPON THIS ROCK 