Opa's Haus

12/13/2025

“I Wonder What Jesus Thinks About All This?”

Advent, Idolatry, the Coaching Carousel, and the College Football Playoffs Seen From Heaven Well, the College Football Playoff tournament for NCAA Division I FBS football is now set, with the first round on December 19th-20th. It will all culminate in the National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on January 19, 2026. Certainly there has been a good deal of drama this year, but isn't that always the case at the end of the season?...

Advent, Idolatry, the Coaching Carousel, and the College Football Playoffs Seen From Heaven Well, the College Football Playoff tournament for NCAA Division I FBS football is now set, with the first…

12/11/2025

URGENT - Friends, there is a text scam going around pretending to be me and asking for assistance for a sick individual or some other cause(s). These are NOT from me. Please ignore them and report the phone number(s) of the sender. -- Thanks, Neville (a.k.a. Opa)

12/01/2025

I Wonder What the Fans Are Doing Now?

Advent, Outrage, and Our Idolatry of Football I wonder what the fans are doing now. Not the coaches. Not the athletic directors. Not the boosters.The fans. Because as soon as Lane Kiffin floated his “I need to go home and pray about it” line at the Egg Bowl podium, a curious spiritual phenomenon swept across Mississippi: tens of thousands of Christians instantly shifted into a prayer life more intense than anything observed since their last SEC Championship bid....

Advent, Outrage, and Our Idolatry of Football I wonder what the fans are doing now. Not the coaches. Not the athletic directors. Not the boosters.The fans. Because as soon as Lane Kiffin floated hi…

12/01/2025

I Wonder What Coach Lane Kiffin Prayed?

Advent, Idols, and the SEC Coaching Carousel The Advent season is a time of holy waiting, a season when Christians lean forward toward the Coming One—the Child whose arrival dismantles kingdoms, reorders loyalties, and reminds us that glory is never where we think it is. At least, that’s the theory. In practice, Advent tends to collide with another sacred season in the American South: …...

Advent, Idols, and the SEC Coaching Carousel The Advent season is a time of holy waiting, a season when Christians lean forward toward the Coming One—the Child whose arrival dismantles kingdoms, re…

10/22/2025

Reclaiming the Wesleyan Way of Formation, Stability, and Mission – Part Two In my previous post I noted that a pastor recently remarked, “The churches I know about that I’d be willing to uproot my family for are all Reformed Calvinist or Roman Catholic. I think there should be Wesleyan churches that work like that.” Clearly he gave voice to a quiet ache among many ministers and congregations: the longing for…...

Reclaiming the Wesleyan Way of Formation, Stability, and Mission – Part Two In my previous post I noted that a pastor recently remarked, “The churches I know about that I’d be willing to uproot my …

10/17/2025

Reclaiming the Wesleyan Way of Formation, Stability, and Mission I. A Pastor’s Question A Methodist pastor I know recently wrote, “The churches I know about that I’d be willing to uproot my family for are Reformed Calvinist or Roman Catholic. I think there should be Wesleyan/Methodist churches that work like that.” My initial response was less than enthusiastic, but upon further reflection I began to see that behind his statement lies both a lament and a vision — a lament over the loss of depth and coherence in much of contemporary Methodism, and a vision for a renewed form of Wesleyan life that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best expressions of Reformed and Catholic Christianity....

Reclaiming the Wesleyan Way of Formation, Stability, and Mission I. A Pastor’s Question A Methodist pastor I know recently wrote, “The churches I know about that I’d be willing to uproot my family …

10/16/2025

Becoming Like Whitefield’s ‘rope of sand.’ It is probably not an understatement to say that most Methodist pastors of whatever tribe have heard the following quote at least once. It is attributed to George Whitefield, an Anglican Priest who, along with Charles and John Wesley, was one of the founders of the Methodist movement. Regarding John Wesley and comparing their methods of evangelism he is reported to have said, “...

Becoming Like Whitefield’s ‘rope of sand.’ It is probably not an understatement to say that most Methodist pastors of whatever tribe have heard the following quote at least once. It is attributed t…

10/07/2025

Here's a thought for today to draw us away from the noise of the world.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” – 2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV) Reflection:Every morning, you may check your blood pressure, count your pills, or l…

07/10/2025

We are living in a time when grief is politicized, disasters are opportunities to score points, and basic disagreement too often escalates into scorched-earth warfare. We experience this every day, but I recently experienced it firsthand. At my father's funeral—held in the church he loved, and sadly left due to warfare in the United Methodist Church—what should have been a moment of shared mourning was marred by division....

We are living in a time when grief is politicized, disasters are opportunities to score points, and basic disagreement too often escalates into scorched-earth warfare. We experience this every day,…

06/30/2025

Thanks to everyone who has reached out during this difficult time for our family.

A Devotional for the Orphaned Heart ”Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” – Psalm 27:10 There are some losses that seem too deep for words. It’s now nine days si…

06/12/2025

In the face of all that’s going on in the world Christians and non-Christians alike can quickly be drawn into situations that generate emotional rather than theological responses. Social media is great at creating these situations and I myself confess to the sin of too often taking the bait. That’s why I’m writing these thoughts down – more for me than for you really – but I hope you take the time to read them and take them to heart....

In the face of all that’s going on in the world Christians and non-Christians alike can quickly be drawn into situations that generate emotional rather than theological responses. Social media is g…