• Bible Studies

    Caring For Creation

    The lesson this morning is divided into three parts: Caring for the created world; Caring for wealth; Caring for the poor. Let’s look at them individually. 1.  Caring for the created world. A few years ago I saw a movie titled “Food, Inc” about the food industry. It’s pretty rough in its presentation of how we mass produce our food – especially chickens and beef and pork. The images of pigs so large they cannot move in their pens and chickens so heavy they cannot stand is not pleasant. Did you know? – Chickens are being raised in half the time they were in 1950s (49 days vs. 3 months),…

  • Fred's Blog

    Rolling Over in the Grave

    Since Henry Ford II’s resignation from the Board of the Foundation his grandfather created, the trustees and staff of the Ford Foundation have been widely held up as the ultimate example of every foundation founder’s legitimate concern – the hijacking of donor intent. By the time Henry Ford II resigned, the direction of the foundation was antithetical to the values and practices of his grandfather. The Ford Foundation was virtually synonymous with the funding and support of liberal causes around the world. In his letter of resignation to the Board in 1976 Ford wrote, “In effect, the foundation is a creature of capitalism, a statement that, I’m sure, would be…

  • Fred's Blog

    When the Wicked Strut

    In his recent address to the United Nations, Pope Francis used the story of Zacchaeus in Luke’s Gospel as his template to support the redistribution of wealth. He called for “the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the State, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society.” “The account of Jesus and Zacchaeus teaches us that… Jesus… simply inspires him to put everything, freely yet immediately and indisputably, at the service of others.” The Pope finished his talk with a plea to “put into practice a shared ideal of fraternity and solidarity, especially with regard to the poorest and those most excluded.” We are left with…

  • Bible Studies

    Marriage: Ephesians 5

    1. Scripture does not idealize or romanticize marriage. It’s not Hallmark cards. In fact, many of the marriages of the greatest figures are difficult. “Marriage To A Difficult Man” is a book about the marriage of Sarah and Jonathan Edwards. He was the great early American preacher, theologian and scholar. “Edwards was less than helpful as a host, for he was still a light eater and would often finish his meal before the others did. He would then slip out to his study, returning to the table only when he was alerted that the others had finished and he was needed to preside over the grace which was always said…

  • Talks

    Tribute To My Mother

    Tribute to my mother. This week I was in East Tennessee or what we know as Appalachia.  It has been from the beginning one of the poorest parts of our country. In fact, it is actually famous for its poverty. My mother, Mary Alice Swann, was born in Smith County, Tennessee in the same town as Al Gore. Their stories could not have been more different. My mother’s family were, as we say, dirt poor. Until they moved to Nashville they lived in a shack with a wood burning stove and an outhouse. My grandfather Pap was a house painter and a hopeless alcoholic. My grandmother was hard because she…

  • Fred's Blog

    The Gospel Enterprise

    I think it was long-time Chaplain of the Senate Dick Halverson who said, “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next it moved to Europe where it became a culture, and, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise.” My introduction to the enterprise was in the late 60s as a college student employed by Word Records in Waco, Texas. Word had begun in 1951 as the brainchild of Jarrell McCracken with the publishing of a single…

  • Fred's Blog

    The Head and the Heart

    I noticed an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy the other day that may indicate a change in a 10-year trend of measuring nonprofit performance. The “effective philanthropy” movement took a hit when the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced recently it was closing down its eight-year, $12-million funding of projects to “get donors to rely as much on their heads as their hearts.” Their funding for Charity Navigator, GiveWell and Guidestar will be ending after this year. As you probably know, these organizations are three of the most visible and successful tools for public information about financial performance and social impact of nonprofit organizations. Ironically, the decision to drop…