Columns

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Is Your Legacy In the Bag?*

By Norris Burkes March 24, 2024 It seems the marketing folks won’t leave us alone. They are constantly trying to sell us something. They follow us everywhere. “Buy, buy, buy!” It’s the mantra of a marketing world where the word “miracle” is defined by how quickly our plants grow or how white our teeth become.

Is Your Legacy In the Bag?

By Norris Burkes March 24, 2024 It seems the marketing folks won’t leave us alone. They are constantly trying to sell us something. They follow us everywhere. “Buy, buy, buy!” It’s the mantra of a marketing world where the word “miracle” is defined by how quickly our plants grow or how white our teeth become.

The ABCs of Prayer Are Elementary*

By Norris Burkes March 17 2024   There have been times that I’ve been found napping in my office. My chaplain response to that is, “No, I’m not napping. This is my prayer time.” That’s because in reality, I may be doing both – napping and praying. I call this time my “ABC prayer nap.”

Nonsensical Prayer Slams into Reality*

By Norris Burkes March 10 2024 After my recent Sunday sermon, a vehicle parked in front of my church rolled up hill and slammed into the pastor’s bumper. Yup. That pickup truck just put itself in gear and gave my Camry a big boo-boo. At this point, I ask that you suspend your disbelief. Let’s

To Tell the Truth, I Wasn’t

By Norris Burkes March 3, 2024 Ten years ago, I was at a writing seminar hanging around the snack table, when one of the seminar instructors joined me for a Danish. He was a quiet, introspective man, truly a statesman among aspiring student writers. That’s why I guided him to the quiet side of the

No Laughing Matter*

By Norris Burkes Feb 25 2024 Folks occasionally ask me how they too might become a hospital chaplain. Some seem to hope I’ll say they need only attend five Monday nights of training in a local church, and they can start making the big bucks. The five-week program works for many volunteer positions, but for

Something Stinks? Is it I?*

By Norris Burkes Feb 18 2024 It seems that whenever pastors preach to a sparse crowd, they often begin by quoting Matthew 18:20. However, they remove the verse from its context to passively express their disappointment for the low numbers.   “This reminds me of what Jesus said,” they’ll jest. “‘For where two or three

The Hefty Price of Love*

By Norris Burkes Feb 11 2024 If you’re buying Valentine roses this week, prepare yourself for sticker shock. The average price for a dozen will be $90. However, if you want a bargain, have them delivered on any day but the actual day. That’s the economic lesson I learned some years ago when a floral

Groundhog Day — Again?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7WbpkJ0TFg&t=3s By Norris Burkes Feb 4, 2024 In case you didn’t know, your digital calendar probably reminded you about Groundhog Day – AGAIN. The outdated day gained modern fame from the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day,” where Bill Murray wakes up to repeat the same day over and over.  Why in the world do I

Biblical Clarity Can Be Blinding

By Norris Burkes Jan 28 2024 Recently, my wife, Becky, and I were driving to a familiar Southern California city when we got in a bit of a disagreement. In the kindest way, she stated several times that I was driving in the wrong direction. I, in a less-than-kind way, made a clear case for

When Faith Doesn’t Meet our Expectations

By Norris Burkes Jan 21 2024 Some of my most rewarding years in chaplain work were those I spent as the Chaplain for Women and Children at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento (2002-2008). It was there my rounds often took me onto the high-risk maternity unit. Rooms in this unit were filled with scared pregnant

Grammar Police Issue Citation*

By Norris Burkes, Jan 14 2023 A regular reader wrote me last month to say, “We ALWAYS enjoy your columns and read them to our Sunday-school class.” I could hear the “but” coming in her compliment about the Chispa Project column when she asked, “May we hazard some chutzpah of our own by pointing out