CONFESSIONS OF A STARBUCKS PASTOR

The entrepranurial mega-cook Paula Deen is being sued. She is a brand unto herself with cookbooks, kitchenware and television programs. If you have ever seen her interviewed, you know she is a charmer who loves buttery, down-home dishes y'all. Today I learned that she also owns restaurants and that a former employee is suing her for the behavior and language used at one of the locations. It seems that beyond the alleged sexual harrassment, the use of the n-word by fellow employees and management deeply disturbed this white woman. So she is suing Ms. Deen. Earlier this week in her deposition, Paula admitted to using a racial slur once and tolerating racist jokes. Somehow the text from this deposition (which is merely part of the legal process) has been published and public reaction is huge. Yes, she did say "that word" to her husband in private after being held up at gun point over 25 years ago. Pundits think including her words (when the suit is more about sexual har...

We've all run into this person. They dress differently, perhaps they are even awkward. They appear to do things we might not be interested in. They aren't boisterous or commanding, and they don't call attention to themselves. These are the people we can usually walk right by because we are absorbed with our own day. Our own agenda. Let me tell you about Lorenzo. I met him when I had taken a big job at a big church. He was one of the 400 volunteers I managed. He was a quiet little man, very earnest about teaching 4th grade Sunday School. Or should I say, being part of the 4th grade Sunday School teaching team. He did not want to lead, but he wanted to be there every Sunday. He liked taking attendance and listening to the kids recite their memory verses. One of the first things I heard from a concerned parent was that Lorenzo should not be allowed to teach. Apparently he had a rusty old car with a trunk full of junky gift items he would offer the children, or he would...

What? The attorney for the recently convicted abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell was being grilled on FoxNews the other day by Megyn Kelly. She kept questioning how either he or the doctor could condone a late term abortion. The attorney kept responding that the primary practice targeted abortions in the first term, and that only "a few" were late term. He proudly stated that the clinic was not in the poor condition the media depicted, and that many clients were referrals. Pregnant Megyn kept at him until he finally acquiesced, sputtering that pro-choice people should "choose quicker" and that an abortion over 24 weeks was just "too late". What? There is a cut off line between when it's the choice of convenience or harm to a human? Before a certain period of time, a life in the womb (with a beating heart and fingerprints not to mention being fully formed) can be disposed of and referred to as pro-choice? After this invisible line, it becomes illegal...

I spent a bit of time perusing the internet the other day and read some chilling stories about how government has treated select groups of people. One group of people had marginalized citizenry, was prohibited from certain areas and received reduced rations going without public transportation. Another group of people had marginalized citizenry, was prohibited from certain areas and received reduced rations also going without public transportation. In both cases the government legitimized the seizure of personal property for redistribution and labeled such targeting as a national security measure. In both cases only those not fitting a particular point of view were targeted. In both cases it appears as if the rest of the nation went along with it, for awhile. Who am I referring to? In the first illustration, I am referring to the Holocost where over 11 million people were relocated and murdered because they did not fit a certain profile. In the second illustration, I am referri...