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Back in the day, many of you counted on me to write about my personal journey. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, almost all of that kind of material has gone into storage or been deleted. Hopefully, this piece will recalibrate us all on the journey, but not cause quite the chaos in my environment as […]

It’s Thursday of “Baseball Week,” and I’m in a library getting some of my Cornerstone talks polished off before heading for central Ohio to meet my daughter and son-in-law. Sabbatical is certainly rushing by.
Yesterday’s day game gave me a really nice case of sunburned knees. Knees. It’s so much like my life to get […]

Baseball fans: what are some of your thoughts and feelings as the new season begins? Best memories? Ironies? Tragedies?
Tomorrow at 1:05 EST, the Cincinnati Reds will take the field against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Florida.
The long, dark winter of the soul will be over here in the Spencer household.
My life runs on three calendars. […]

You are invited to add your insights on the similarities of these three stories.
Three stories. Three men in the second half of life.
Story one. An almost perfect man loses everything. Unknown to him, God is in a contest with Satan, proving that the this man’s righteousness is no fluke. He loses family, wealth and health. […]

In a church in Georgetown, Kentucky this week, there is going to be a funeral for one of my fellow teachers at the ministry where I serve. His name was Henry.
Henry came to our school from a career in ministry, public school administration and teaching. After retirement he lost his wife, and a great sadness […]

This essay would be appreciated most by those who read my essay recounting my history of appreciating Roman Catholicism. Sadly, I could not write that essay today.
I took an hour out of my time this afternoon and reread a large section of Thomas Merton’s outstanding spiritual biography, The Seven Storey Mountain. I was looking for […]

Went to the post office this morning (where Crazy For God and an Exodus Commentary by Peter Enns were waiting for me) and got my mail. Last letter in the stack was from the Louisville Institute.
It opened with the usual “Thanks for applying…..400+ applicants….lots of deserving people….” And so on…
And then the second paragraph. Congratulations. […]

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is […]

Yesterday my wife told me that she wanted to make a suggestion on how I could be a better person. That’s a bit like shooting at a target the size of North Dakota, but she had a helpful, truthful criticism combined with some encouragement about a behavior I often overlook.
Of course, my feelings were hurt […]

Here’s the answer to the trivia question “What is the closest the iMonk came to becoming a Muslim?”
In October of 1995, Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan sponsored what was called the “Million Man March” on the mall in Washington, D.C. While probably less than half a million men attended, the march was a […]

UPDATE: 4:37 p.m. As good as promised….even with the out.
Tomorrow is opening day in Cincinnati, in case you didn’t know. So here’s a baseball post.
Sometime tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to tear up at a baseball game. It’s a certainty.
I’m going to tear up because of a moment that is going to happen in Great American […]

UPDATE: Blast you Kyle Potter!
You’ve read this blog for 7 years. You’ve read my confessional essays. You’ve got the bio memorized. Your iPod has the podcast all the way back to episode 1. You’re confident you could pass any quiz on the life and times of the iMonk.
You’re wrong.
Welcome to fifty things you (probably) didn’t […]

This post is an odd soup. Call it one part “Second Half of Life,” for just getting old and pathetic; one part “In The Study,” for the sermon idea I’ll get out of it; and one part “Parable, Metaphor and Illustration” for what you can do with it. Laugh at me, with me, and then […]

Dr. Timothy George gave a presentation at Union University last week called “Is Jesus A Baptist?” (It was renamed. Ignore the title.) The entire talk is a compelling and outstanding exploration of what Baptists are facing in the post-denominational age. The first part, which is autobiographical, is deeply touching and relevant to anyone who cares […]

That’s not Clay. Sorry.
I have a son who is showing signs of being a poet. He may be a teacher or a writer, but as of today, his most evident gifts are poetic. Everyone who has read or heard his work has been impressed. I’m not exactly unbiased, but I’ve found some of his poetic […]