“Give the People What They Want”

January 27, 2024.Reading time 12 minutes.

We saw the “Tina Turner Musical” this week, and a brief moment of the narrative has stayed with me, touched me deeply, and seems to speak deep truth about our need to be entertained, and perhaps even our continued fascination with Donald Trump. I know, that’s a lot. You might think the Trump association has […]

Our Baptismal Call with Houseless Neighbors

January 15, 2024.Reading time 10 minutes.

Dallas awakes to snow and ice, and flurries continuing to fall as I write, and I’m here to update you again about our ministry helpful our houseless neighbors. Yesterday, it seems to me, was one of those both beautiful and heartbreaking days…especially if you’re going to serve others. We started with our primary mission (IMHO) […]

Driving Gratitude

November 23, 2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

On this Thanksgiving morning, I’m posting a picture that shows you what I see every day as I am driving home from North Oak Cliff. This pic from the great Justin Terveen shows a much more swollen river than usual…I mostly post it for how the buildings look…because that’s how it looks, every night… I […]

Sixty Years

November 22, 2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

Today is the sixty-year anniversary.Sixty years is a very long time.But, for all of us who grew up here in Dallas, our city still lives with the legacy of the Kennedy assassination. This is a very old song I wrote to name what it felt like to grow up here, in the shadow and shame […]

The Final Lesson of Baseball

November 2, 2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I wept openly last night. It is not an exaggeration to say that as Dennise, Maria, and I leapt from our chairs, into the middle of the room —all in mutual tears, falling into a jumping bear hug— I clumsily and excitedly grabbed them so tight, it […]

The Rangers’ Icarus

October 30, 2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

Among folks have a certain age in North Texas, saying you were present for the major league debut of David Clyde is akin to what folks say about Woodstock: A lot more people say they were there than who likely were even able to physically fit in that stadium.I think I was actually there. But, […]

Cody McMahan

January 30, 2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Cody McMahan died Saturday. I had the privilege of knowing Cody for perhaps 15-20 years….I believe I’ve lost count. I believe I first met him when Cody was still a member of Greenland Hills UMC. He later joined Northaven, and still later started dating and eventually married Mike House. One of the high honors of […]

I am going down with the ship.

June 25, 2022.Reading time 11 minutes.

“I am going down with the ship.” I can’t speak for everyone. I can only speak for me. I can’t fault any other choice anyone else might make.All I am saying is: If Texas goes down, I’m going down with it.To the bitter end. I’m here to stay and I’m ready to fight. Ever since […]

Stop. Wait. Think About This.

February 26, 2020.Reading time 19 minutes.

Sometime this morning, maybe even as I write this, the “Leaning Tower of Dallas” will finally come down. (UPDATE: Obviously, the timeline is much longer now…again, reinforcing the point of this essay…EF) I’ve been captivated by our fascination with this wreck of a wreck ever since it happened a week ago. I always love metaphor, […]

“The Greater Empathy” Thoughts on Guyger Trial, Week One

September 27, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

What if our opinions on the Amber Guyger trial comes down to a question of “who do you feel empathy toward?” It may not come down to this. This may be a foolish question to ask. But the question keeps popping up in my head this week, as I’ve listened to the testimony…and especially as […]