Parchment & Pen Blog

We try to make friends with people who are like us. This is a dangerous business, as it can worsen our own problems, since our friendships often serve to justify within ourselves the issues for which we are not proud. “He does this too, so it can’t be that bad…right?”  When our friends are like us, [...]

“Do you recycle?” someone asked me the other day. “No, I don’t,” I responded. “I hate recycling. In fact, I hate the environment.” I like to preempt people’s final thoughts so as to cut to the chase. Well, this is not the chase, but when I say “No, I don’t,” it is where the chase goes [...]

First, some fun: What is an Evangelical? A nice fundamentalist. How do you tell the difference between an Evangelical and a Fundamentalist? Ask them if they like Billy Graham. If they do, they are Evangelical. If they don’t, they are Fundamentalist (Fundamentalists believe he has compromised). Finally . . . How do you tell the [...]

In the portfolio of my Christian life, there are a few events, lessons, and people who stand out and deserve a page in my “book.” There are many things that stand out prominently in my spiritual education as causing me to have one of those “ah ha” moments: Chet Lackey, my pastor from age 16-21. Mark Hitchcock’s [...]

When Christian leaders talk about how to live a godly life, they eventually turn to the gray areas those things that are right for some but wrong for others. You know the list: drinking, smoking, watching R rated movies, playing cards, dancing, using colorful language, listening to Country-Western music (OK that last one is not [...]

The other day, my daughter did the dishes without me asking. Wait…there’s more. Get this: it is not even her job to do the dishes anymore! It is my other daughter’s job. Those of you who are parents know what I am talking about. You know, the frustrations of trying to get your kids to [...]

Last week I went to lunch with a student here in Edmond, OK. While I rarely get the chance, whenever I can, I go to a stake joint just down the road. I love steaks. After I ordered, the waitress asked the normal question: “How would you like that cooked?” “Medium rare” I responded. As [...]

You know what I hate? I hate when I am corrected by my wife. Especially when she is right! My first tendency is to get defensive. “Michael, do you think you can start trying to spend more quality time with the kids?” (just to throw something completely random out there that I have never actually [...]