This is a great poem about living boldly for truth. The call to rely “on only your soul” in the second stanza misses it, but replace “soul” there with “God” and this is it! So many compelling images pressed into service for calling us to stand for what is right regardless of public opinion or […]
Be Not Dismayed, Thou Little Flock
My poem of the week this week, is this bold hymn by Johann Michael Altenberg, 17th century German pastor. He wrote this hymn during the turbulent times of war which followed the Reformation, and they seem pertinent today. Be Not Dismayed, Thou Little Flock Be not dismayed, thou little flock, Although the foe’s fierce battle […]
The Gospel, The Cure of Cowardice
“…cowardice would seem to be a sort of fearful yielding of the soul” (Theophrastus, Characters [371-287 BC]) Cowardice “is a disease graver than any that affects the body since it destroys the faculties of the soul. Diseases of the body flourish but for a short time, but cowardice is an inbred evil, as closely inherent […]
Prophetic Presence in the Halls of Power
Here is another quote from Conan Doyle’s, The White Company. The English knights and company while staying with some French nobility hear from the French nobleman how low he thinks of the common people under his rule. Doyle, as a good Englishman contrasts this with the free heartiness of Englishmen, but then moves on to […]
Selfishness vs. Courage
I find myself wanting to post a quote from Bob Schultz’s Boyhood and Beyond almost every day as we read through the book (see previous post). There is a wealth of wisdom here, and it stimulates good conversation. Today we read the chapter titled, “Leadership,” where he drew from the story of Ernest Schackleton, a […]