On the eve of Passover
On the eve of Passover By Steve Beard “Lord, have mercy,” was really the only exasperated prayer I could offer after hearing the news of a deranged neo-Nazi shooting people outside of a Jewish Community Center in Kansas. When I heard that one of the victims was a...
There is no music like that music
By Steve Beard Even Cicely Tyson was surprised. As a seasoned and award-winning 80-year old actress of the screen and stage, you would imagine that few things in show business would catch her off-guard. “I didn’t realize they were doing it until someone remarked to me...
10 years without Cash
By Steve Beard Providentially, my last trip to Nashville dovetailed with the grand opening of the Johnny Cash Museum — right down the street from the Ryman Auditorium and all the honky-tonks. I’ve been a life-long fan. Quite literally, I distinctly recall the Johnny...
East of Eden: Finding God in Paradise
The following sermon by Steve Beard was delivered July 21, 2013, in the Honolua United Methodist Church in Maui, Hawaii. Yesterday, there was a young woman sunning herself in the ocean on one of those personal air mattress rafts just a few miles down the beach from...
Iconic Norman Rockwell paintings to be auctioned
Someone is going to get a nice Christmas gift. Sotheby's will be auctioning off three of Norman Rockwell’s most popular visions of small-town Americana. “Saying Grace,” “The Gossips” and “Walking to Church” all appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. "Of...
Robert Randolph and Sacred Steel
Remembering the heroes of 9-11
In the aftermath of the 9-11 attack, innumerable stories emerged of courage, bravery, and heroism. This is the story that stuck out most profoundly to me. Like troops before battle By Peggy Noonan We have learned, as a minister put it, that the age of the genius is...
The long arc toward justice
By Steve Beard History sometimes takes a long time to heal itself. The course corrections are often patchworked together over decades. “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?”...
The gospel according to Brennan Manning
By Steve Beard He was the most beloved alcoholic within Christendom, a sinner who whispered grace through a megaphone, a ragtag saint who poked at your soul with eloquence until you began to catch the drift of God’s ridiculous, unreasonable, and insatiable love for...
Zombies are us, theorize faith writers
By Terry Mattingly The Knoxville News Sentinel It seems to happen whenever Steve Beard hangs out with friends — especially folks who don’t go to church — talking about movies, television and whatever else is on their minds. “It may take five minutes or it may take as...