Spirituality In Everyday Life

Norris Burkes

As a military and hospital chaplain, I routinely observe the stories of faith in the everyday lives of real people. My site tells those faith stories in a humorous, hope-filled, and honest way. I believe you will find them inspiring and potentially life-changing. Most of all, I believe the insight within these stories will connect with your story in a meaningful way. Enjoy!

Thriving Beyond Surviving

A black and white arrow pointing to the left. As a hospital and military Chaplain Norris Burkes has seen things he must never tell. Yet as a syndicated columnist in 38 secular newspapers around the country, he has found ways to share shades of the sacred with his readers.

This book compiles ten years of newspaper columns that takes you into the military battlefield as well as the trauma rooms of major hospitals.

-Get The Book!

Recent Columns From Norris Burkes

Mar 21, 2025

Note to readers: The woman described in this column is a composite character representing the many conversations I’ve had with those seeking chaplain jobs.    By Norris Burkes  March 23 2025 Not long ago, I was working for a hospice group when a woman stopped by my office considering chaplain employment. Touting her recent graduation from […]

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Mar 15, 2025

By Norris Burkes March 16 2025 Today’s column comes straight out of ancient times. This is wrath-of-God stuff.  We are talking “Fire and brimstone, baby, right out of the Old Testament cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Nah, you know I’m messing with you. You don’t read this column to get the hellish diatribe made famous […]

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Mar 07, 2025

By Norris Burkes March 9 2025 When a reader once left a voicemail suggesting that I wasn’t worthy of my chaplain title, I shrugged. That’s OK, I thought, I’ve heard that before.   The worst occasion happened during my USAF deployment to Saudi Arabia in 1999. That’s when my supervisor, Col. Mike Bradshaw, told me I […]

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Feb 28, 2025

By Norris Burkes, March 2 2025   Some months back, I visited a new church led by an energetic leadership team. I was there to learn how our traditional church might find regenerative energy. Afterwards, I asked what they liked about their church. I heard several good answers, but one woman intrigued me. “The first […]

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