A Taste and a Glimpse
Mark Schloneger
As soon as Nancy Pelosi ripped up the pages of the State of the Union, the Twitterazzi went to work. Some were filled with delight, loving that open display of defiance to a President’s troubling behavior and policies. Others were filled with outrage. It was disrespectful, they said, a sign that those others are more […]
Come and See
Mark Schloneger
I have climbed the highest mountains I have run through the fields Only to be with you Only to be with you. I have run, I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you But I still haven’t found What I’m looking for. But I still haven’t […]
Where the Dove Went
Mark Schloneger
“Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all. (Emily Dickinson) Genesis, chapter 1. In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of […]
You, turn.
Mark Schloneger
So, how are you? I expected that tepid response, so I came prepared to not only ask the question but to provide your answers: I’m fine. Getting along. Busy busy. Doing well. I’m here. Causin’ trouble. Just great. Fair to middlin’. Keeping warm. Couldn’t be better. Can’t complain. Still alive. If there is any other […]
The Spirituality of the Blues
Mark Schloneger
(Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, Bessie Smith)[1] Nobody knows you when you’re down and out. That song is by Bessie Smith, nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920’s and 30’s. I listened to the blues as I prepared this message. That’s because I […]
Nagging God
Mark Schloneger
“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Sometimes, Luke makes things easy for us, or at least he appears to. Before we even get to the parable, before we even read the story, Luke provides us with the moral, the meaning, the golden nugget of […]
Church as Exile
Mark Schloneger
He saw her in the market, a rare breath of beauty amid the misery of his life in the refugee camp. Someone said she was from his village back in Syria, which he fled when a Syrian government plane dropped bombs that destroyed his home. And now, on a hot afternoon two months later, Samah […]
The Parable of the Disgraced Father
Mark Schloneger
For most of my life, I have heard stories about the first house that my parents lived in. It was known to them and their neighbors as The Mengises. Mengis was the last name of the first owners of this house. So, in that rural community in Wayne County, Ohio the Schlonegers lived at the […]
What It Takes
Mark Schloneger
A few years back, a Super Bowl commercial for Doritos and Pepsi Max was pulled before it had the chance to be aired. That’s because a lot of Christians complained that it was too offensive. Letters were written, petitions were circulated, and some vowed never to eat Doritos or drink Pepsi again. Given the controversial […]
The Vineyard of Sour Grapes
Mark Schloneger
The history of Goshen, Indiana, according to Wikipedia: Goshen was platted in 1831. It was named after the Land of Goshen [the place in the Bible that the Egyptian pharaoh of Joseph gave to the Hebrews]. The initial settlers consisted entirely of old stock “Yankee” immigrants, who were descended from the English Puritans who settled […]
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