Owe My Soul to the Company Store?

In my growing up years at home, the record which was most played was Tennessee Earnie Ford’s, Sixteen Tons. The phrase I related to was “you load sixteen tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. I owe my soul to the company store.” I loved that song even though it is a sad concept to owe your soul to the ‘company store’. Perhaps that phrase had some influence on me and my sense of independence. I have always wanted to be free to leave a place where I wasn’t wanted or where I did not want to be. I wanted to be free to follow my dreams and where I believed God was leading. I did not want to be so dependent that I felt trapped by an organization, business, group, church, etc. I recognize there can be too much independence which can lead to narcissism. I desire to have a healthy balance of dependency, commitment, loyalty, etc. as well as independence. I want my soul to be free as I believe God created our souls to be free.

That "Retirement" Question

In two months, I will have reached my 84th birthday. It is not surprising that many folks ask me about my possible retirement. I have no plans to retire, nor do I have any plans for retirement. I would like to continue being a psychotherapist and spiritual director as God continues to grant me sufficient physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. I may want to decrease my days and hours but that’s not the same as retiring. I recently read the following quote from Yalom’s book, BECOMING MYSELF. His quote says well what I am hoping for in my not-retiring work/ministry. “…we humans, all of us, crave a wise, all-knowing, white haired elder. If I’ve been chosen to fit that slot, well, I happily accept the position. Someone has to do it. “(page 333, kindle).

Returning Violence for Violence Multiplies Violence

“While it may be a primal human impulse, responding to violence with violence does not resolve conflicts but rather escalates them, creating a cycle of deeper harm, as famously stated by Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars’". (Google’s AI). Today we’ve heard of another shooting in Dallas by someone who is frustrated with the federal government’s ICE presence and actions. Violence is certainly done with a gun. Violence can also be done with other instruments, such as a fist, slap, car, etc. What the leaders of this country seem not to know is that violence is also done with words. When someone with whom you disagree is described with “put down” or belittling words as well as sterotyped prejudices along with threats of arrest, deportation and/or legal action, that is violence. I pray there will be someone who has the courage and wisdom who can turn our country toward the light rather than take us deeper into the darkness. 

Fundamentalism is both very enticing and addictive

I fear fundamentalism. Fundamentalism believes there is a simple answer that will fix everything. Fundamentalism may be political, religious, psychological, pharmacological, etc. Fundamentalism is both very enticing and addictive. It means that I do not have to figure out all the intricacies of a situation. I only need to subscribe and be submissive to whatever fundamentalism to which I’ve attached myself, ex. I only vote the party line, I will only go to my one true Church, etc. I no longer need to think for myself, and, in addition, I have a group who will give me support and affirmation. Fundamentalism is very enticing and addictive. A favorite religious professor of mine was said to remark that fundamentalism was “no room for fun, it damned whatever it disagrees with and there was minimal mental requirement.” I think he was correct. We are now inundated with political fundamentalism on the ‘right’ as well as the ‘left.’ Religious fundamentalism has always been among us when we hear ‘there is only one way to heaven, and it is my way’. Some psychologists believe their practice theory is right for every situation and physicians think a pill or some type of medical intervention will fix whatever is wrong. Human life, along with our society, culture, religious, health beliefs, etc. are more complicated than fundamentalists want to believe. Be careful about projecting fundamentalism onto others because there is a fundamentalist need living within each and everyone of us. 

Which Jesus do you try to follow?

In a recent conversation, a friend was praising Mr. Charles Kirk for leading people to Jesus even though he was adamantly opposed to Mr. Kirk’s politics. I responded to my friend by asking, “I wonder which Jesus he was leading others to?” My question was ‘puzzling’ said my friend. So, I went further and observed that we seem to be inclined to see the Jesus we want to see. We choose examples from Jesus’ life to support what we want Jesus to support which aligns with our values and lifestyles. There are those, for example, who see Jesus are an answer to their health and wealth desires. There are those who see Jesus as calling to a very simple lifestyle. Many scriptures indicate that Jesus was fond and supportive of those from other nationalities and races. Some even think Jesus surely had blue eyes and long blond hair, like Europeans and Americans. I think my question is a good question for all of us, “Which Jesus do you try to follow?"

Stop Making Enemies of Those with Whom We Disagree

In 1959 – 1963, I was a student at Oklahoma Baptist University. One of our favorite professors was Dr. Rowena Strickland. She was a professor in the Bible Department and taught us “preacher boys.” There was no conflict with her teaching us the Bible. In 1980, I became the Pastor of Lexington’s Trinity Baptist Church. In 1981, we ordained Bonnie as a deacon. In 1983 we partnered with another Baptist church and ordained Cindy and, later that same year, Carolyn, to the gospel ministry. We notified the local association of Baptists as well as the Baptist State-wide paper. Those ordinations were not done in secret. No one objected publicly to those ordinations. I’m sure there were private objections—I’m not naïve. The Southern Baptist denomination of today does not permit women to be ordained or in Church leadership positions. The Southern Baptist denomination of my younger years is not the same Baptist denomination that I grew up with and loved. It was a denomination who did not need to make enemies of those whose ideas were different.

I Am Angry

Yesterday, Friday September 5, 2025, I received word that a dear friend had died. She was 56 years old. I have known her and her family almost since the time of her birth. I was and continue to think of myself as her pastor. She died in her sleep from COVID. Robert Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has said he did not want to see anyone other than elderly people taking the COVID vaccinations. He even said yesterday that Tylenol, during pregnancy, was a cause of children’s autism. I have a dear friend and colleague who is pregnant. I am angry with this non-medical and non-scientific individual placing his prejudices onto the American people and attempting to make his prejudices the laws, policies and procedures of the nation. I think, he is a dangerous person. There may not be much that I can do except put my thoughts and feelings into this blog. So, “Thank you, blog.”