August 23, 2021
As Mayor Joe Hogsett announced a $166.5 million anti-violence plan that focuses heavily on public safety, I was beginning to read a book by criminologist Byron R. Johnson. His book, More God, Less Crime, assesses the many studies that have been done on the effect of religion in crime reduction. It is a subject that the many in the secular world find somewhat distasteful, relegating the very positive findings to the bottom shelf of actionable measures. Yet these findings are clear. The injection of a moral code, delivered by trusted community faith leaders in relationship with those leaning toward criminal behavior, produces dramatic change.The "Boston Miracle" of the 1990s is a case in point.
August 3, 2021
While many of us are shocked, wondering how in the world we can stop the shootings and stabbings that have infected our city, one man went right to the top and got an answer. Dr. Clyde Posley, pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church has received a word from God, and it's a word we've heard before. He quotes Jesus from Matthew 17, where He tells His disciples that "this kind of (powerful deep-seated) demon" can only be overthrown with fasting and praying. OK? Historically, fasting and praying has worked out pretty well...
July 21, 2021
In 2010 at Wishard Hospital, Dennis Irvin was diagnosed with stage three throat cancer. He was just beginning his 36-year sentence in a maximum security prison in Carlisle, IN. He was at the high point of his gang activities, which involved running a black market in three different prisons that supplied pretty much anything a prisoner wanted, including every kind of illegal drug. Five doctors entered his room and from the looks on their faces, he knew things didn't look good. The cancer had spread to his lung and from there the discussion turned to pain medication to keep him comfortable as he neared his inevitable death. But Dennis didn't die.
July 7, 2021
South West England is home to a small village named Combe Martin that snakes through a beautiful valley for a mile and a half until it culminates in the sea. The village has been holding a celebration for the past 300 years called "Hunting the Earl of Rone" .Preceded by drummers and dancers, the Combe Martin "Grenadiers" march through the town in their red uniforms to reenact the capture of an Irish Earl who fled Elizabeth 1 in 1607 and was shipwrecked nearby. Every year, the Grenadiers find him, "shoot" him, (to the cheers of the crowd) and throw him into the ocean. (It takes them approximately three hours, literally 17 firing squads, and lots of dancing to accomplish this.) But it never happened. More and more we have to look for evidence to justify the way we think about things,
June 21, 2021
In a world where you can't go to the bathroom without asking permission and are locked up in a 10 x 10' cell at night; in a world where you have to endure a strip search to see your wife on visiting day--that's if you're lucky enough to still have a wife or a visitor of any kind, there is one thing to look forward to: the mail...
June 20, 2021
There are two voices in that head of yours. Humph, you say. Well, there are. There's the voice that wants go to that party and the other voice that says "better not." There's the voice who takes offense at someone's actions, and the other voice that sees it from the other guy's perspective and realizes it's your ego that is really bothering you. Who among us has not experienced the voice of warning in times of danger and of conscience in times of temptation, but has shrugged off the nudges...
May 21, 2021
It seemed like a normal Wednesday morning. People were about town with their heads duly sheathed in little face diapers. As usual, those of us who look for friendly faces were left to wonder about the disposition of the folks they encountered. It is almost impossible to tell if people are scowling or smiling with a mask in place. Then out of the blue came Mayor Joe Hogsett's announcement that Marion County residents can drop the mask as of June 7th! So, now…well not now…but in two and a half weeks, IF the City-County Council approves the Mayor's announcement, we can almost return to normal...
May 7, 2021
When Tyler Perry stood up to accept a humanitarian award at the Oscar ceremony recently, he said words that we all need to hear."I refuse hate," he said. "I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican, or black, or white, or LBGTQ, or Police Officers, or Asian… I dedicate this award to all those who will stand with me in the middle. "He went on...
April 21, 2021
The noted author and speaker Wayne Dyer used to tell the story about a man who dragged a heavy bag of dung around with him. Once in a while he'd reach in and smear some of it on his face so everyone could see it. Dyer said that man is us. We each have a bag of what has been done to us, and what someone said to us, and how they didn't treat us fairly, and how we didn't deserve it. The bag is heavy. But sometimes others forget about all we've been through. So then we trot out the whole sorry tale...
April 7, 2021
This is one of those great stories where everyone is anonymous, but it all happened here in the last few months and days. It begins with a man who was serving time in prison. We'll call him Paul. When he was released he went to live in faith-based transitional housing. But, the clock was ticking. He had been given a certain amount of time to find a job and save enough money to rent a place to live or go back to prison. For a while it didn't look like he was going to pull it off. But...
