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The "Theological Tavern" Blog

by Rev. Todd Boddy, Associate Pastor for Mission and Outreach, Central Christian Church.
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Theological Tavern attempts to go beyond the spin, rhetoric, and news of the day to discover meaning and identity for our soul. Sometimes we’ll blow the dust off our Bible as a starting point. Other times we'll observe the "truth is stranger than fiction" stories of our lives to help us understand the miraculous and hypocritical.

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Our best sources concede we are made from dust through generations of exploding stars, and by a first cause agent which nobody can deny or identify with complete objectivity. The Theological Tavern seems to always go back to asking “Who or what stands behind the black curtain of the cosmos?”, and “If possible, would you please come out and identify yourself?”

Well, that’s up for debate isn’t it? But it certainly is worth talking about seeing that we all have a limited window to observe and participate in life. The following are some of my musings and subjects where I can “grind my gravel” and share my joys as I try to figure life out and keep myself from lapsing into a depressive “Jerry Springer” wasteland.  We don’t want to go there.
Jesus had to keep from being sucked into this line of thinking himself.  About the only remote comments Jesus made on a political figures of his day was when he referred to Herod as a old fox and before a startled Pontius Pilot when informed his authority was on loan from God.  Jesus seemed to be well aware of what was happening around him, but felt pressed to concentrate on more important affairs appropriate to his “higher pay grade”. 

My  “pay grade” has never been too high to begin with.  However striving to not side with one particular agenda or at least try to be aware when I am, I certainly don’t mind questioning my own beliefs or the baseness of the world just when it seems to think it has discovered the “fountain of youth” one more time.

Abstracts of Recent Posts

About the Author

Todd is a husband to the sweetest woman in Texas, “the Loretta". Together they have 4 children and 2 grandkids and two dogs. Their home is kind of a combination bunk house, parking-lot, office, tutoring-entertainment center, washateria, with waffle house and spca atmosphere. Todd is an ordained minister in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Currently Pastor of Outreach at Central Christian Church in Dallas TX. He likes gardening with native plants, golfing with friends, college football, mountain biking, grilling, following HS baseball, camping, video gaming with his kids, working on his novel projects and dogs.

Are Dietary Holiness Codes Arbitrary?

04/15/2010 - Similarly the new dietary codes might contain some symbols of God's arbitrary grace. In other words God is saying,"I am choosing you to be my special people, community, nation and reflect our covenant in these particular choice of ritually pure/unpure foods."

My Name is Bipolar

03/29/2010 - You should know me; I have been around since the beginning of civilization and I will be around until the last day of Earth. I have been known by many names over the centuries. I have gleefully destroyed millions of lives and I continue my work today.

A Holy Week Version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

03/29/2010 - The upper room,
The bread, the wine
The apostles promising, “all is fine”
The Judas Kiss and from Peter no “Hallelujah”

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

A Case for Meandering

01/26/2010 - All our Christian institutions were founded originally on a method of discipleship which involved Jesus and his disciples meandering about without so much a shred of a written program or bulletin.

The Christmas Special, Why Mary?

01/06/2010 - Originally we planned on just presenting a straight forward birth narrative of Jesus from the N.T. However I thought it might attract more interest to listeners if I could manage to try and fill in a few blanks about Mary's feelings toward raising Jesus without being sacrilegious in any way toward her.

I Am Tiger Woods

12/14/2009 - But unfortunately in these last few weeks Tiger’s tales are unavoidable and sad. To my own displeasure I find myself living vicariously through him amid all this scandal. I don’t like myself for the interest I seem to have in wanting to know more.

And the Number One Sin on the Count Down Is?

12/02/2009 - A more culturally relative Ten Commandment countdown list could look like this under the heading “the ten things most people agree on which hack God off, and if not, they sure do me!”

The Diaspora of Times Square

11/09/2009 - For an evening I had dropped in on a world I had not frequented much. It made me think about the changing face of America and the world. It made me wonder what Diaspora I was a member of?

Star Bucks and You

11/08/2009 - Everything happens in one of these places: sales meetings, reports, close friends, the news, people escaping all day at home with the kids or waiting to meet someone they have never met face to face. Some of the coffee shops get flooded right before the start time of local support groups like AA.

Demons Return

11/06/2009 - He was avoiding me of course and made me stand in the drizzle with my head stuck under the hood of his car while he worked on the engine. I was trying to be the good pastor, which isn’t always easy.

Can I Get a Bird Dog?

11/05/2009 - Like all preachers worth their salt, he pulled out his little pulpit and began to elaborate “how he hated religion”. “I hate religion, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I refuse to have myself or my church perform anything that smacks of dead religion.”

Good Side of Mission Trips from a Big Honkin Truck

10/20/2009 - On one of my ascensions, my McDonald’s hot vanilla latte, went down when I went up, spilling down my ankle into my tennis shoe…….hot…..hot. This was humorous to my co-pilot too.

When God Builds a Casita, Interview with Marco Antonio DeLeon

09/09/2009 - Thirteen years ago Marco was in a terrible car wreck at night in Northern Mexico, which damaged his pancreas and set off a long debilitating fight with diabetes. Through this tragedy God spoke to him and changed his life. He most likely will soon have both legs amputated.

Marco: I met Pastor Feliberto about 13 years ago at the Casa Bethel children’s home where all five of my kids had to live for a while. I also went through a divorce then after the accident. For a time I had to live there. That is how I met him.

Age is Elementary Dear Watson

07/21/2009 - As a post script to Tom Watson's anguishing loss at Turnberry and our reflections on the decay of the universe I'd like to say that parring the last hole is not always easy. Maybe there is time for a second career for all of us?

Tom Terrific Looks to Beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

07/19/2009 - Tom Terrific Looks to Beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Tom Watson’s performance at this year’s British Open at Turnberry is amazing. Leading after the first three rounds, if he hangs on to win, he would be 11 years older than any other major golf tournament winner in history. At the age of 59, to win against much younger players, Tom will have to overcome forces much larger than himself. As an avid golfer who is supposed to be on the downside of physical performance, I really want to see him win.
One of those forces he will have to overcome is the 2nd law of thermodynamics or entropy. It is something we can all look forward to.

You're Never Really On Vacation

07/08/2009 - I have always found it interesting that some people are bothered by playing golf with a preacher. They will say things like: “I guess I will have to watch my language today”, or “I don’t go to church much, but let me tell you this joke about a priest, a rabbi, and a Presbyterian minister…”, or “I guess you preachers get a lot of time to play golf, about all you do is read books and B.S. on Sunday mornings.”

Shooting Our Handicap

06/01/2009 - Within a couple of years my handicap was around 12. Guess, what?.....It still is. I have fluctuated up and down in my handicap for a long time. But 12 still is the default. Right now I am playing a little below that. But I know from experience how it can go back up.

Drop Off the Clubs at the Good Will

05/20/2009 - So he did something I have never heard of before. My first guess was that he snapped all his clubs, threw them in a lake or ran them over with his SUV? Actually he had something better in mind. He calmly put the clubs in his trunk, said “goodbye” to the golf course and proceeded to the drive through donation center of the local “Good Will”.

Near Collapse

05/06/2009 - One of my greatest collapses on a course happen while playing with my father and long time golf partner Dennis. After six holes of testosterone swaggering exchanges I was even par and leaving my competition in the dust.

Imagine No More Thumbs

05/05/2009 - Can you imagine a world without thumbs or hands, you can imagine if you try. These of course as everyone knows are the root of all suffering and wars in the world. Thumbs and hands have brought more evil and hurt into the world than all other sources.

Against the Wind

04/24/2009 - Some people play better in the wind because it forces them to concentrate better. In North Texas it seems to be windy two thirds of the year; basically all the time except when it is stifling hot in late July and August.

Mulligans of Grace

04/21/2009 - The strategy is to reserve this mulligan for the one time your ball, the cut of the green, your impeccable swing, the equipment, the laws of physics, etc., for some unknown reason totally break down to destroy the perfect shot. When this great mystery of the universe takes place, the mulligan is a Godsend.

Golf is a Four Letter Word

04/20/2009 - There is a saying about Golf. "It is a four letter word". And yes, I personally know why from experience. That is one reason I like golf. Humanity masked in other venues of life, over time, gets revealed in golf.