On August 8th, 1775 the British ship “Falcon” had chased a Salem based schooner into Gloucester harbor. The schooner was in trouble because it became grounded on the flats between Pearce’s Wharf and Five Pound Island. The Falcon attempted to board the schooner but were turned away when two swivel guns and multiple muskets prevented the schooner from being captured. the British captain in turn fired his cannons into Gloucester and dispatched men at Fort Point in order to burn

High on a footprint shaped hill in southeastern Massachusetts stand a number of interesting stone structures and effigies (No, I’m not going to tell you where it is). It is up to speculation as to what these structures are but they are pre-colonial. It is a well documented fact that Native Americans constructed various structures like these for a variety of purposes. In this area there are six stone cairns in close proximity to each other. I found This area also has a number

O come and roam with me today, Where nature undefiled holds sway, And where its majesty profound, In primal grandeur may be found, Then let’s to Dogtown Common lie, Where nature’s scenic grandeurs lie, We’ll bid the city streets adieu, And some old road our way pursue. Scotti and Lee Cox Cellar “hole” #9. Site of John Clark’s Home. Recently, my family and I took a short trip north to Cape Ann to visit an area I explored when I was attending seminary. Dogtown always fascinated

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood. Henry Miller Well, I thought I would quickly plop down a quick update of where I am in this whole sabbatical and dissertation writing process. First sabbatical stuff that has nothing to do with my dissertation. I’ve found..: ...that I really enjoy listening to sermons. I feel built up. It is kind of a weird experience. Since I have been preaching at EBC 11 years, this is the first time I have had a cha

Sabbatical has been a blessing in many ways. I have had time to rest, read, learn, get some work done, and play. The other day, while I was reading a book called “Revolution in Leadership,” I came across this paragraph: Too often ministers adopt one of two inappropriate ways of dealing with emotional toil. The first approach simply allows the emotions to be drained out of the minister after taking hit after hit emotionally, with no allowance for emotional refueling. The resu

HOW OFTEN DO CHURCHES CLOSE DOWN? THE ANSWER IS MORE SURPRISING THAN YOU THINK. Have you ever come across something that you thought was true but you found out that it isn’t quite true at all? That was my experience today. It is not a major pillar of our faith that I’m talking about but a truth that is usually backed up by anecdotal evidence and personal experience. You might have heard it this way: In America, churches are closing at an alarming rate! In fact, I actually h

It was a good week. No crises. No fires to put out. No trauma (except when I opened the car door onto my face and almost knocked myself out...don’t ask). I went away with my wife this weekend for a much needed reboot on our marriage. It was good to be alone and talk. We don’t have much time anymore to do that with my schedule and the new job she has encroaching in on our time together. We also spent a little too much money eating out. So much for this month’s budget. My sabb

I’ve just returned from a week long class designed to help me finish my dissertation proposal. Having finally finished the proposal and having it pass through the first hoop, I have come to the conclusion that the class was designed to do more than help me finish the proposal. “What” you may ask? Well I’ll tell you - It was surely designed to break us. Why else would sane men stay up to all hours of the night to make sure periods were in the right place in the bibliography (

Instead of the usual banter, this blog will follow my adventures while on a sabbatical from my church in order to write my dissertation. NO it won’t say “Slept till noon” every day. I’m one week (or so) into this sabbatical thing and I still feel like it is life as normal. I find that even though I’m not involved in the day to day work at church, I still am thinking a lot about what is going on there. I’m not worried about the church. I am confident in the leadership and cong

It is eight days before the presidential elections and it is politics as usual. A recording of Senator Obama (who has repeatedly said that he would support the Constitution of the United States) has been revealed where he states that that he believes the Constitution, is in fact, “fundamentally flawed.” Oh yeah, and that $250,000 taxation threshold he promised, was lowered to $200,000 this weekend. Senator McCain, who would cut earmarks and “name names” voted for the bailou