Stories by Lowell Grisham

  • Lowell Grisham: Loving our enemies

    I can remember a time in college when I thought three stickers on my car would tell people most of what they needed to know about me: a decal for my school, my…

    by Lowell Grisham October 4, 2016

  • Lowell Grisham: Welcome the strangers

    I am a lawbreaker. One of those illegals. Last week I drove to Little Rock. As I left Fayetteville, I set my cruise control to 75 in a 70-mph zone. About half …

    by Lowell Grisham September 13, 2016

  • Lowell Grisham: Stop flying that flag

    I am a son of the South. A fifth-generation Mississippian. My ancestors fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. I grew up in a town where we honor our Con…

    by Lowell Grisham August 23, 2016

  • LOWELL GRISHAM: Get off the roller coaster

    The word "emotion" comes from the Latin for movement, agitation, stirring up. Like what happens in your guts when they are stirred up, agitated and moving. The…

    by Lowell Grisham August 2, 2016

  • Commentary: The good in mankind

    One of my favorite writers is conservative columnist David Brooks. Last Friday he opened his column in the New York Times this way:

    by Lowell Grisham July 12, 2016

  • Commentary: Will grace triumph?

    Just over a week ago, conservative columnist David Brooks wrote that "this is a Joe McCarthy moment. People will be judged by where they stood at this time. Th…

    by Lowell Grisham May 10, 2016

  • Commentary: Opening their eyes

    I serve a church named for one of our great Christian apostles, Paul of Tarsus. But Paul began as a violent anti-Christian religious extremist. From the perspe…

    by Lowell Grisham April 19, 2016

  • Commentary: In the beginning

    It has been an enlightening experience for me to become engaged in our church's prison ministry and to hear the stories of many of the people there. I've learn…

    by Lowell Grisham March 8, 2016

  • Commentary: Freedom for all

    I was troubled by a recent poll indicating that many Americans do not support the protection of religious liberties for all. Asked if religious liberty protect…

    by Lowell Grisham February 16, 2016

  • Commentary: Finding more happiness

    I didn't win the recent Powerball jackpot; neither did you. I didn't have much of a chance since I didn't buy a ticket. But I had almost as good a chance as an…

    by Lowell Grisham January 26, 2016

  • Commentary: Lies that will not die

    In 1998, after publishing a paper in the British medical journal The Lancet, Dr. Andrew Wakefield launched a public campaign claiming that autism is caused by …

    by Lowell Grisham December 15, 2015

  • Commentary: Reach kids early

    Every once in a while you run across something so self-evident and compelling it is hard to imagine anyone finding grounds to disagree. In a time of great pola…

    by Lowell Grisham November 3, 2015

  • Commentary: Seeking loft

    It can be maddening and depressing to invest energy and attention in the current congressional and presidential battles for power. In the presence of sheer ban…

    by Lowell Grisham October 13, 2015

  • Commentary: A broken system

    In tenth grade, my teacher, Mrs. Keyes, determined to teach our class how to debate. The assignment: Prepare for both sides of the argument. You won't know whi…

    by Lowell Grisham September 22, 2015

  • Ordinance fits Jesus' teachings

    When a pastor lets it be known that he does not condemn but accepts LGBT neighbors, he hears stories that you won't hear otherwise. I hear these stories.

    by Lowell Grisham September 1, 2015

  • Love, peace are the way

    Sometimes I think, if only Christians would embrace the values of Jesus, so much division and fear would evaporate.

    by Lowell Grisham August 11, 2015

  • Expanding Christian Compassion

    What do the following things have in common: Same-sex marriage; representative democracy; the abolition of slavery; borrowing at interest; monogamy; women's su…

    by Lowell Grisham July 21, 2015

  • Too much whine

    I was facing several deadlines late on a Friday afternoon when a colleague sent me a document I needed to process. Just sign it and scan it back, he said.

    by Lowell Grisham June 30, 2015

  • Commentary: One of ours

    All parents worry about their children. Especially when they start to drive. And when they begin to experiment with alcohol.

    by Lowell Grisham June 9, 2015

  • Legislature fails to get the Word

    Jesus tells a parable about an unnamed, comfortable rich man living sumptuously behind the gates of his luxurious home, while his neighbor, a beggar named Laza…

    by Lowell Grisham April 28, 2015

  • Commentary: Certainties create rifts

    The world is being torn apart by religious people with militant, aggressive certainties. If we are to find peace, it is religious people who must promote a con…

    by Lowell Grisham February 3, 2015

  • Commentary: Letting Friendship Cast Out Fear

    A couple of things struck me during the recent community conversation about Fayetteville's resolution extending civil rights protection to our lesbian, gay, bi…

    by Lowell Grisham September 7, 2014

  • Economy Should Be Based on God's Will

    Jesus taught his disciples, "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in hea…

    by Lowell Grisham June 15, 2014

  • Time Chips Away At Another Wrong

    "It's been over 40 years since Mildred Loving was given the right to marry the person of her choice. The hatred and fears have long since vanished and she and …

    by Lowell Grisham May 23, 2014

  • Commentary: Healing Can Be Viewed As Good

    There's a story in John's gospel where Jesus and his disciples come across a man born blind. The disciples fall into a theological debate of blame. Whose fault…

    by Lowell Grisham April 13, 2014

  • Private Option A Lifesaver For Some Arkansans

    The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a lot like Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. It is our society’s way of responding in compassion to our neighbor in ne…

    by Lowell Grisham February 9, 2014

  • Scrooge Says ‘Bah, Humbug’ To Common Good

    Northwest Arkansas is so fortunate to have TheatreSquared (T2), our year-round resident, professional theater company, recognized last year as one of the natio…

    by Lowell Grisham December 29, 2013

  • Celebrating The Commitment Of Michael Eric

    One preacher asked the other. “Do you believe in infant baptism?” “Believe in it? Sir, I’ve seen it!” Maybe you’ve heard that old one before. But it’s got a ne…

    by Lowell Grisham November 17, 2013

  • Extremists Ready To Damage US To Save It

    In Genesis there is the story of Esau, who sold his birthright for a pottage of soup. He’s a symbol for giving up something precious, for nothing.

    by Lowell Grisham October 27, 2013

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