Rev. Ethan Brown, Pastor and Minister of Care & Discipleship

It was 1870 at Big Bend Tunnel when the drama unfolded. The expansion of the railroad would not, could not be stopped, connecting the whole country across plains and rivers and mountains that divide. Yet the times they were a changin’ and what used to be accomplished by the power of the human spirit was being given to the steam driven machine. So in West Virginia, the mettle of a man was tested against a steel drill. John Henry was a steel-driving man swinging 20 pound hammers against a bit...

There is a monster in my son’s closet. Basil has been convinced of this for many weeks. I tried to assure him that there was no monster, but that was clearly a lie. I tried to comfort him with the presence of his hoard of stuffies that surround him at night, but alas they too are scared of the monster. I tried to add extra night lights, and while helpful, they only reminded him of the darkness that waited in the silence of the closet. This dark corner of his room reared its monstrous head...

Growing up my family's primary vacation each year was a week of tent camping in the Tallulah River Gorge region of North Georgia. My mom agreed to camping as long as my dad did all the cooking. So we would load our tent and sleeping bags, a cooler for food for the week, clothes, fishing poles, and chairs for around the campfire. With my parents, two sisters, myself, and the dog, our minivan was always full to the brim. Thankfully my dad was a master car packer. Every bit of space was...