About

So a bit about myself.

I used to be a pastor in the Mennonite Church USA. I grew up Amish-lite (we could have cars and electricity, but other than that…). A decade or more of studying Church History has radically changed my understanding of God’s work in our world and theological orientation. That is one reason why I am no longer a Mennonite pastor. As for Amish-lite, that ended years ago.

My first wife died of lung cancer almost nine years ago when our children were 2 and 4. Thus death and grief are forever part of who I am today. I don’t think I am morbid, but people who have experienced that kind of loss, tend to stay in touch with those aspects of life. Today I am re-married and the family is doing well! We have a precocious Cockapoo named Benji, and a neurotic cat, Misty, who could benefit greatly from Prozac.

I lived abroad for the better part of a decade in both the U.K. and Germany. Those experiences greatly expanded my world view. I am a coffee roaster of the finest coffees. I love all things coffee and what started out as home roasting for myself has turned into a small sideline business. Check us out at www.lonelymonkcoffees.com

I love: history, cooking, golf, music (classic rock to liturgical), theology, politics, dark, hard bread, Christian spirituality, Orthodoxy, Coffee, reading for fun and for challenge, seafood (any kind of food really) and much more (not necessarily in that order).

I dislike intensely: getting wet out of context, camping, cleaning up after cooking, stress, feeling driven by people or situations, ignoring historical reality and proclaiming God’s truth based on that ignorance, and of course much, much more.

Please chime in on the conversation. I will write about random thoughts that come to me and invite your responses.