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Tuesday, September 06, 2011

This Too Shall Pass
By webmaster @ 10:47 AM :: 374 Views :: 0 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

Okay, I admit. I am a dental coward. I'm not a coward in all things. Snakes don't scare me a lot. Calories don't scare me at all. I love old black-and-white Dracula and Frankenstein movies. I will watch the black-and-white original of Night of the Living Dead as often as TCM plays it. (The newer color version lacks the original's oomph!) Nope, I'm not scared of all things. But, I am terrified of dentists. Maybe it's the sound of the drill. Maybe it's the memory of times past when the Novacane hadn't fully taken hold yet. Maybe it's the mental picture of Steve Martin and Bill Murray in Little Shop of Horrors. I don't know.

Monday, August 29, 2011

An Interesting Dilemma
By webmaster @ 8:16 AM :: 369 Views :: 0 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

The decision to cancel Sunday morning services on August 28 was grueling (and delayed until the latest possible moment). In the end, your Board and staff leadership listened to the myriad voices telling New Yorkers to "stay in for safety." Even those who lived close enough to walk to church, we were advised, would put themselves in harm's way due to flying debris and the possibility of falling, shattered glass. Your well-being was our first concern; thus, canceling was the only loving and reasonable decision to make.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Count Your Many Blessings
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 413 Views :: 1 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

A friend of mine in ministry is like me. With each new year he reinterprets the meaning of "mid-life," extending its boundaries farther and farther. A few years ago, his dark brown hair began to become salt-and-pepper. Over time, it became less pepper and more salt. So, he decided to do something about it.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Fear Not
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 402 Views :: 1 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

In one of the most famous political speeches of the 20th century, President Franklin Roosevelt said: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." From time to time, perhaps, we need to hear those words again... or other words like them:

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Authentically Human
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 409 Views :: 1 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

This morning I saw yet another photo of a starving Somali child on a fly-infested bed in a camp in Mogadishu. It tears at your heart. I hope I never "get used to" those photos and the tragic, poignant effect they have. I hope I never cease to be offended by the thoughts of ruling militants who blockade supplies that could keep such children from starving.

Thursday, August 04, 2011

Rested...
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 401 Views :: 2 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

Okay, I am now officially back from vacation. We were in the mountains. We were at the coast. We entertained family and friends (even a Marble friend who came to NC). We ate. Oh boy, did I eat! I spent a month in The Land of All Things Fried, and I had everything they offered... twice!

Sunday, July 03, 2011

For T.G.
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 529 Views :: 1 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

I just looked at a photo of Page's family from a couple autumns ago. I was the one who took the picture. It was of her, her three brothers, and her parents in the stadium parking lot before a Va. Tech football game. They were all dressed in the Hokie colors, arms around each other's shoulders, smiling. Her Dad was smiling most of all, there with his family and his team.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Summer Sabbath
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 529 Views :: 1 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

Yesterday morning in our pre-Worship meeting, a strange thing happened. The Worship Team realized that we didn't have many Announcements. I was surprised, as the bulletin was packed with things upcoming. But, I was reminded those were our "regular activities." Sunday morning Announcements are usually devoted to the special, the extra. Yesterday, we only had two of those. A week ago, by contrast, we had two pages single-spaced. Why the difference?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Benign Indifference
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 509 Views :: 7 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

"Benign" is a great word in the proper context. I had some minor surgery recently. ("Minor surgery," by the way, is defined as "surgery which is done on somebody else.") Anyway, following the procedure, the physician said: "It was benign." What a wonderful moment. What she removed was no lingering threat. It was harmless, "benign."

Sunday, June 05, 2011

More than Statistics
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 486 Views :: 0 Comments :: Dr. Michael Brown

Sometimes statistics cause our eyes to glaze over. Sometimes they should cause our eyes to fly open or to tear up. I think these sobering statistics do the latter.

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