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This was my third New Year’s Eve as a Lyft driver.  Years one and two were what I would call ‘exciting and profitable’.  I had experienced none of the nightmare scenarios that you might expect; they were truly fun. It was like going to a bunch of parties without any of the hassle.  This year the big night fell on a Sunday, which for both an active pastor and a Broncos season ticket holder, created a bit of a crunch.  I made a decision to ‘punt’ and go out to do ‘cleanup’ around 5:30am.  It was a unique experience which…

I wrote my first Lyftingmeup blog 364 days ago.  I launched my first attempt on  January 1, 2017 after lots of encouragement from my two kids Amy and Mateo, and my friends Jim and Chris. “Dad you need to write this stuff down”!  It has become part of my weekly ritual.  I know that retelling these encounters has sharpened my attention to storytelling. I have been honored to receive so many kind and encouraging responses from both friends and total strangers.  My move from 21 years of living in central Denver to the far edge of the Arvada suburbs coincided…

“Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy, for ALL people”. Luke We are almost there.  I am not sure which day I love most, today or tomorrow.  As I think about it I choose… BOTH!!! Tonight we get to imagine once again sitting around a campfire, with the sheep all bedded down.  They are making occasional sheep sounds; like baaah, and buurrr.  The shepherds are telling jokes, perhaps aiming them at the occupying Roman Army, or the corrupt and crazy leader in Jerusalem (we get it).  It was just another night, nothing special…

  I am going to get my red car inspected next week and do a little Lyft driving from my new perch in the ‘burbs’.  But this week my topic comes from the 3rd week of Advent, where we look at Joy.  Joy just happens, you can’t manufacture it, drink it or smoke it and certainly not sell it or buy it.  Joy happened today when Todd (youth pastor at Greeley FCC) and three youth show up this morning to help us unpack.  You can now see our floor.  Last week Mary Kay went shopping for things like shoe storage,…

Story number three from my days of the Enid State School Chaplaincy.  We had five worship services every Sunday.  Each one was tailored to a certain population of the institution.   Music was central to connecting these folks, whose sense of the holy was not about what they knew, but more about what they felt.  God was less of an idea and more of an expression of heart.  We worked hard at making all of the senses connect with worship, which often meant we used bubble machines, balloons and a collection of musical play-along gadgets like tambourines, bells, clackers, and…

The challenge of writing from this context is that I have spent 40 years in pastoral ministry and two years driving for Lyft.  On this six week sabbatical from Lyft driving, I am trying to honor the fact that my blog audience is a ‘non church’ gig.  I have very much enjoyed the challenge of writing narratives to a wide ranging audience.  However, when it comes Advent I can not resist.  So I have made my semi-apology to those of you who have good reasons to avoid preachers… I get it.  My experience is that the vast majority of the…

Be careful about what you say you will never do again. Holy Moly!  I am moving and the reasons are not for this space, but they were very thoughtful, given where we are on the actuarial chart.  I called our friend Barbara, who is an awesome agent.  I told her I was hoping that we could find a ‘ranch style’ patio home north of I-70.  We are buying the very first place we looked at, and the very first person who looked at our place is buying ours.  I have moved over 25 times in 68 years.  Let me repeat…

From 1976-81 I served as the Senior Chaplain of the Enid State School. It was a time in our history when most folk with developmental disabilities where kept away from living in our communities, and for lack of a better word, they were institutionalized. It is easy from our current perch to caste judgement on this reality but the facts were that we, as a society, were just doing the best we could. I remember very fondly the time that I served with these remarkable folk. In 1976 I went to Dr. Fred Craddock, Dean of Phillips Graduate Seminary, to…

For the next few weeks I am taking time off from driving for Lyft.  Simply, about three weeks ago Mary Kay and I said to each other “We might need to relocate”.  This was pretty much a spontaneous moment which usually means “something bigger than me is trying to tell me something”.  We have loved living in our loft condo at Washington Park.  If you would have told me that we would leave this place for the burbs I would have laughed.  The reasons are unimportant but the reality is, as my friend Jim said, “Hell would be moving every…

I am writing this from a McDonalds located about 20 miles north of Denver.   It is 8:52 am. and I have been driving for a bit over 2 hours.   I have logged about 20 rides in the last week and I have at least five good stories.  I headed out in the dark and spent the first 20 minutes listening to the radio.  My ‘ping’ woke me up.  Which brings me to ride #: I picked him up at the McDonalds at Alameda.  He hopped in the front and said “I just pulled a graveyard, I am ready…