Author Archives: jackpelham

One contacts me to give me something,And a thousand, to sell me something.

There are two kinds of empty, The first being the ordinary kind—That simple state of having nothing inside.It’s what we would expect of the new bucketWe select from the shelf at the hardware store,Or of the new nail apron, still … Continue reading →

When will the ruckus be over?—This churning chaos of a worldIn which our lives have been setAnd in which we have been tossed To and fro all our lives,Sometimes hurt in innocence, And sometimes in guilt,And most all the time, … Continue reading →

I am quite good at failure.I’ve done it many times.The things I’ve tried have often diedAnd crushed some dream of mine. But still I keep on going,Come failure as it may,For I have found, while digging ’round,Some gold along the … Continue reading →

What happens when: a church mis-advertises itself in some way (Bible-based, loving, open-minded, inclusive, The New Testament Church, etc.), and an authentic person starts going there because he or she thinks that whatever’s in the ad is really important, and … Continue reading →

How do I dismiss thee?Let me count the ways! I will be too busy with things more important than you. Therefore, I will not be responsible for dismissing you. I will smile at you and pretend to agree, while I … Continue reading →

After decades of Bible study, I’m convinced that we tend to get lots of things wrong about the Bible for failure to fully decouple from our own ways of thinking and communicating so as to fully grasp the ways of … Continue reading →

It’s not that our society doesn’t appreciate proofs of things. Generally, they do. In the right situation, they love seeing the hero or heroine present a slam-dunk case–as in this brilliant scene from the genius film, My Cousin Vinny. (Be … Continue reading →

If you want to help people, it’s worth noting that you generally have to work with people to do it. And people can be prickly and messy and unpredictable and ungrateful. So there’s that. But then, they can also embrace … Continue reading →

Most of the time, in most matters, most people do what most people do. I don’t mean to suggest that nobody ever has original thoughts or actions. I only mean to suggest that other people are often our guide in … Continue reading →