By Norris Burkes Dec 26 2021 Did you happen to notice the warning labels that came attached to the Christmas presents you gave or received? While some are quite funny, these cautionary labels are likely inspired by lawsuits. The stickers counsel you to do such things as “Remove child from stroller before folding.” Or, and
By Norris Burkes 19 Dec 2021 We are only one weekend away from Christmas which probably has at least a few of us wanting to skip the seasonal holiday. I get it. If only we could hibernate until mid-January, right? But for some of us, the feeling is not just about the holiday hustle. The
By Norris Burkes Dec 12 2021 For those of you looking for the perfect last-minute Christmas present, I have an idea. How about giving someone a kidney? Brilliant, right? The idea occurred to me one holiday season while taking a break from my hospital-chaplain job to renew my military ID. The military clerk worked hard
By Norris Burkes Dec 5 2021 The large rectangular box my wife Becky placed under our Christmas tree, many years ago, gave me hope. I hoped so much that it might be the video console game I wanted. I had even suggested that she collude with her family to cobble the funds together to bring
By Norris Burkes Nov 28 2021 In my forty years of ministry, I’d guess I’ve preached three times that number of funerals and fielded hundreds of comments afterwards. But few comments ever delivered the punch I received after my father’s funeral in 1992. Like me, my father was an ordained Southern Baptist minister. However, as
By Norris Burkes Nov 21 2021 I met Pastor Terry Lawrence so long ago that I’m certain I haven’t properly recalled his name, but his story is worth retelling. During the summer of 1979, I served as a summer missionary for the Southern Baptist churches in Northern Nevada. I was one of hundreds of college students
By Norris Burkes Nov 14 2020 “Full disclosure,” my wife often tells our dinner guests. “Be careful what you say, or you may wind up in Norris’ next column.” It’s a fair warning. Unfortunately, the stocking crew at my local grocery store didn’t get that memo. Last week, I was shopping the refrigerated aisle of
By Norris Burkes Nov 7 2021 In the last few months, several people have asked me how veterans feel about the sudden pullout of troops in Afghanistan. Honestly, I’m not sure. I do know that sometimes we can do the right thing for the right reasons, but it will never feel okay. So, on a
By Norris Burkes Oct 31, 2021 If you’re having trouble with your spiritual life, I’m happy to announce that there’s an “app” for that. If you don’t know what an app is, then you’re in for a treat. App is short for an application that works on your Smartphone to do a specific task. There
By Norris Burkes Oct 24, 2021 We’ve all watched the news stories of Honduran families making the treacherous journey across our southern border. So today, I have only two questions. First question: What makes them take such a risk? Why do they trek thousands of miles through harsh weather, violence and rough terrain? Why
By Norris Burkes, October 17, 2021 If you’ve seen my photo, you probably have reason to doubt that I once pastored an African American congregation. But I did. During the last two years of the twentieth century, I served as an active-duty chaplain stationed at Izmir Air Station, Turkey. Inside this New Testament city
By Norris Burkes, Oct 10, 2021 This week, I celebrated my twentieth year as a syndicated columnist. Every Wednesday, by 9 a.m., I have submitted 600 words to my editor -- 52 weeks a year multiplied by 20 years. You do the math. My column began in “Florida Today” on October 5, 2001, the month
