Earlier this week Carol and I had dinner with three other couples, and the four men got around to talking about their relationships with their fathers. Last week, I wrote about an issue that occupies the minds of friends young and old. I think this is the same. For some of us it is a complicated and often unresolved issue, and for others it is a source of continuing support and encouragement. That is why I decided to post something from the past today. I hope you don’t mind. Virtually every time I mention my father in a blog people will comment about how interesting he must have been. Some…

Transitions from the founder to the next leader are notoriously difficult. Everyone is at risk in one way or another. Founders are often reluctant to leave as their whole identity is wrapped up in the organization. Successors are unsure of themselves. The people feel caught between loyalty to and affection for the founder and it takes time for them to adjust. Sometimes they don’t and there is a simmering rejection. All of these work against the success of the transition. Of course, some work better than anyone expects. For example, the transition from Moses to Joshua was remarkable. While Joshua was doubtful about himself Moses was doubtful about the people…

Twice each year the Thursday blog is a sampling of photos and quotes. It’s that time again and I hope you enjoy both. “If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.” ― G.K. Chesterton ‍ “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” – Fred Rogers ‍ “The morals of our people are much better; their manners are more polite and agreeable, they are purer English; our language is better; our taste is better; our persons are handsomer; our spirit is greater, our…

As some of you know, I enjoy taking pictures – and then finding something to say.

Listen to “Repaid by Love” by Fred Smith   Stories come in all shapes, don’t they? Today, there is an industry devoted to people anxious to understand their personal narrative and the arc of their lifelong story. What is the plot of my life? For others, it is merely a collection of anecdotes compiled as multiple stories. They have a beginning and an end. They may or may not be related to other stories in an individual life. Some lives, in fact, are anthologies of these anecdotes but not a single narrative. For a few, there are life-defining stories that are more than anecdotes but not as defined as a…

Listen to “Rest In Peace Mrs. Perkins” by Fred Smith   Mrs. Perkins stepped out from her pew and walked down the aisle of our Baptist church to rededicate her life on a regular basis – almost monthly. It was a mystery to those of us who knew her to be one of the kindest and godliest people in the congregation. Sunday School teacher, model wife and mother, and a light in our dark adolescence, we were confused. In time, we figured out the pattern. Whenever the pastor ended the service with, “If you were to die tonight, would you know for sure where you will spend eternity?” Mrs. Perkins…

Listen to “Bearing Witness” by Fred Smith   The first time I read the phrase “bearing witness” was in Elie Wiesel’s book “Night” recounting the horrors of the Holocaust and the responsibility he felt never to forget or allow others to dismiss what happened there. Over the years, the phrase has come to mean more. We bear witness by standing up for something in danger of being overlooked or discounted. We use it to defend unpopular causes and ideas. I would describe Phil Buchanan’s new book, “Giving Done Right” as bearing witness to the too often dismissed best intentions of both non-profits and philanthropy in a time when both are suspect.…

Listen to “Mama’s Boy” by Fred Smith If you visit Elk Lake, Minnesota and the headwaters of the Mississippi, you will see a stream that is about 20 feet across and 2 feet deep. Sometimes it is so obscured by reeds that people lose sight of the stream altogether. But if you keep going for 2,300 miles you will end up in New Orleans where the Mississippi is 200 feet deep and 7600 feet wide. The flow has increased from 6 cubic feet per second to 12,000 cubic feet per second. It’s one of the largest rivers in the world that begins from a very unremarkable source. Stories about our…

Listen to “The Widow’s Great Treasure” by Fred Smith For years I have treated the story of the widow’s mite as an illustration of sacrificial giving. So remarkable is the exorbitance of her gift that even Jesus is astonished and calls his disciples over to see what she has done. “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.” It’s the ultimate story of faith and trust. However, I wonder if there is even more to it than that? Perhaps the larger sacrifice of…

Listen to “White Noise” by Fred Smith The last time I watched a movie about whales was…never. I did buy a Judy Collins album years ago titled, “Whales and Nightingales” that featured a duet of whales singing with Judy in a beautiful piece, “Farewell to Tarwathie.” It was haunting, but I had not thought about it in years until speaking last week for a small conference attached to a much larger gathering in Dallas: EarthX. For almost a decade Trammell Crow has hosted thousands of advocates from around the world to address environmental issues and organize for change. During one of the sessions, we viewed the short documentary, Sonic Sea. Using the…