The New Testament has six stories in which Jesus feeds a crowd of people. I call them picnics. The Gospel refers to two of them as “bread and fish . . . for four thousand,” found in Mark 8:1–10 and Matthew 15:32–39. The other four mention “bread and fish . . . for five thousand,” … Read more

Can you walk on water like Jesus did? I give that question a no and yes answer. First, let’s review Jesus walking on water, found in Mark 6:47–51. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was dark, Jesus wasn’t with … Read more

In my lifetime, I have served under ten different bishops. In the Episcopal Church, a bishop can have a great deal of power and authority. She or he is also the chief shepherd of the flock. I have admired and respected four of those bishops, primarily because they were more into being pastors than legal … Read more

I promised that I would not blog about all the negativity in our country and the world until I saw something optimistic. Fortunately, I am starting to see that ray of hope. Quietly, and sometimes noisily, people are planning ways to resist. Some are already demonstrating. First, however, here are some absolutes: We cannot cave … Read more

The airwaves and other media are filled with negativity that can leave one feeling hopeless and helpless. I have decided to buck that trend and write a positive and uplifting blog post. ***** Over the years, because we Gentiles read the Bible literally, we often miss the great truths within the stories. Miracle narratives are … Read more

Most of my readers know that I feel the institutional church has lost its way. It hangs on to a Jesus that doesn’t make much sense in the twenty-first century. During my sixty-eight years of ministry, I have become convinced that Jesus’s main message was to live agape, with unconditional love and total forgiveness of … Read more

Penny asks, Bil, could you give us a column about PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness for the new year? I’m surrounded by bad news. Four people died in a fireworks blast, thirty more injured, many critical, and most were children. Where’s the Joy? Thank you, Penny, for the question. No one has ever asked me that before, but my … Read more

The State of Louisiana has mandated that the Ten Commandments be included in every classroom. I have tried to imagine seventh-grade teachers walking into their classrooms on a Monday morning, and voilà, emblazoned above the whiteboard or blackboard is a list of the Ten Commandments. The principal has ordered the teachers to review them with … Read more

Ashley asks: How do you feel about being touched or led by the spirit? Your question reminds me of a clergy friend who shared that God had called him to go into the ministry and added, “So I did. That was twenty-five years ago, but I haven’t heard from Her since.” So much of your … Read more

My first trip to Europe was in 1960. I was a bachelor who had just graduated from seminary and been ordained. I spent the summer exploring Europe. I had heard about this little island a half mile off the coast of Normandy called Mont Saint-Michel, first established as a monastic shelter in 708 CE. On … Read more