Jody Vickery

When I was a kid, all the stores in Buford closed at 3:00 on Wednesdays. All of them. That was because the owners and employees and even the customers needed to get home for an early dinner so that they could go to prayer meeting that night. In those days, everybody went to Wednesday night church. I played little league ball, but we never practiced on Wednesdays and never played on Sunday. In fact, on Sunday, every store and nearly every restaurant was closed. You didn’t mow your lawn or fish or play golf – or if you did you … Read more…

Many people who are not favorably disposed to Christianity, or religion in general, are fond of quoting Matthew 7:1. Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Except they usually quote it from the King James Version (Judge not that ye be not judged), because (a) that was the vogue version the last time they cracked open a Bible, or (b) they think using the KJV makes them sound more righteous. That’s important because they are usually quoting it at a Christian whom they feel is judging them. I am mildly amused that folks who otherwise do not care … Read more…

I remember my mother’s first gray hair. She was sitting one row in front of me and Barry Kingsley at the Duluth Church of Christ on a Sunday morning sometime around 1970. I don’t recall where Barry’s mother was sitting, but my guess is she was one row behind us because neither of our mothers ever got on board with that whole Your-Child-Just-Needs-A-Lot-Of-Positive-Reinforcement mumbo jumbo that was just beginning to catch on with the culture. They were into old school discipline even when that school of child-rearing wasn’t all that old. Plus, me and Barry were a handful. Anyway, sometime … Read more…

Looking back over some recent posts, I realized that the blog has been a bit on the darkish side of late. I’ve kind of been on a pain, death and suffering kick. Cheerful installments have been as rare as Southern accents on National Public Radio. Which is a bit baffling to me because I think Southern accents are really quite charming. The late Shelby Foote could read from a vegan restaurant menu and hold my attention for hours. Recently, I had dinner with one of our elders and a normal member at a steakhouse in Knoxville, TN. The server, a … Read more…

At a news conference on September 11, 2001, with a ragged hole in the New York City skyline, someone asked Mayor Rudy Giuliani how many casualties he expected. Mr. Giuliani could have answered like a politician, but instead, he answered like a pastor; “The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear ultimately.” He numbered our grief in fourteen words, named it unbearable and, thereby, enabled us to express it. The right word at the right time infuses a moment with meaning, meets questions with answers, soothes, heals and strengthens. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Armstrong’s proclamation from the … Read more…

My parents were involved in a serious auto accident this past week. Both remain hospitalized, but have a good prognosis. Recovery will be slow, but we are grateful their injuries were not more serious. My three siblings and I have spent the week tag-teaming in the hospital. In fact, I’m writing this post from a quiet corner in a waiting area down the hall from Dad’s room. It is a good vantage point from which to watch people as they come and go. And a hospital is a good place to reflect on what does and does not matter. I … Read more…

If I tell you to look for Toyota Camrys as you drive to work or school tomorrow morning, you know what’s going to happen? Every other car is going to be a Toyota Camry. Psychologists call that the frequency illusion. The suggestion that Toyota Camrys are everywhere is all it takes for the road to suddenly seem jam packed with Toyota Camrys. (If I write the words “Toyota Camry” one more time, you’re going to think I’m getting a handsome product placement bonus from the company that makes Camrys – Toyota.) In the realm of ideas, this phenomenon is called … Read more…

Some people never think about death. Some of us never stop thinking about it. A lot depends on your age, what you’ve been through or your disposition. I don’t mean to steal your Easter joy – but you do know you’re going to die one day. When life unfolds on the schedule we’ve come to expect, we get eased into accepting the inevitability of our last breath. First, friends of your grandparents pass away. People you’ve heard stories about but never met. You may know their names but you’re not really connected to them, so when they pass, it’s almost … Read more…

This week’s post invites reflection on the time Jesus raised a widow’s son from the dead. I’d recommend you read Luke 7:11 – 17, to refresh your memory of the story. As we eagerly approach the Easter celebration of His resurrection, it is good to recall that before the tomb was found empty, the cross was occupied; that while we look back to the cross with gratitude, Jesus looked ahead with grim resolve. ~ A long time before, when those who settled it had lived there long enough to need a name for the place, someone called it Nain. It … Read more…

Did you ever wonder why people get tattoos? Me neither. Until I was working on a sermon the other day and the floor beneath my chair opened up and tumbled me through an Alice-in-Wonderland-like rabbit hole into the curious world of body ink. Of course, there are lots of reasons why people pay to have painful, permanent marks placed on their bodies – excessive alcohol consumption being one of the most common. (I think I’ve probably missed the boat on this one, but I bet there is serious money to be made in tattoo removal. Thought the same thing about … Read more…