At the River I Stand

"These conversations were written over the course of a few months, but their origin reaches across my lifetime. As will soon be evident to you, this life was sculpted by a churchgoing family, Christian Scriptures, gospel songs and Sunday hymns, and fifty years of service as a pastor of churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina. Along the way a PhD in theology got thrown into the mix. In brief, for good or ill, church-stuff and God-talk have been my home for eight decades. Even so, when I first thought about writing this, the title that came to mind was Preacher on the Ropes. That spoke the raw truth of my condition, and therefore I should forewarn any reader that if you have had your fill of stories of preachers coming undone, this is probably not for you. Others, however, may be helped by knowing that some valleys are so dark that even clergypersons, the ones paid to be officially full of light, stumble and moan in that darkness. But I also hope you will hear me talking with Someone in this darkness. That's why the subtitle says these conversations are about living as well as about dying"--