Living Faith Haiku
Faith sitting like stone Floats in, energizing love Filling lively rock (Inspired by Galatians 5:6; James 2:17; 1 Peter 2:5.) (Image elements courtesy of OpenClipart.org.)
The Pastoral Tithing Visit
“I’m here to talk about your tithe,” said the pastor. There was a moment of stunned silence at these words. Then Mr. Brent moved his oxygen tank just a bit and unnecessarily adjusted the breathing apparatus. He wheezed just a little bit. “We have been absolutely faithful about our tithe. A full 10% of our…
Jury Nullification and My New Book
Having just announced the release of my new book, Stories of the Way, I was interested to find a story about jury nullification, or more precisely advocacy of jury nullification today (HT: The Agitator). One of the two new stories I wrote for this book (an additional 23 stories are from this blog), is The…
Who Felt God’s Presence?
[This is a work of fiction, Copyright © 2009, Henry E. Neufeld. Any resemblance between the characters in this story and any in the real world is purely coincidental.] It was a small hotel room in a small town, and Jack had driven three hours on small county roads to get there. Now he was…
Pastoral Candidate
[This is a work of fiction.*] Vernon noticed the arrangement of the room. As manager of a regional chain of restaurants, he was used to reading the way a meeting was set up and evaluating peoples’ attitudes. It was hard to be precise about the five men sitting across from him. He saw eagerness and…
After the Fire, What?
The first time that Yagac approached the shrine he was carrying a stick he had cut from a tree and sharpened. “What do you bring for the god?” said the aged priest. Villagers said he had been at the shrine more than a hundred years. He looked it. “I bring this spear,” said Yagac, his…
The Call
Once in a lifetime, perhaps, a king’s knight would ride over the hill to the south of the village. His armor would be gleaming, his clothing immaculate, and his weapons beyond the comprehension of the villagers. He would come to the center of the village, order that all the young people be assembled, and then…
Would it Make Me Wrong?
“Daddy!” The boy pulled on his father’s uniform shirt. “Yes, son?” “Why are they burning that lady?” “Because she committed adultery.” “Oh.” “Daddy!” The boy pulled on his father’s shirt again. “Yes?” Less patient this time. “I thought you testified at the trial that she couldn’t have done it because she wasn’t there.” “Well, Father…
Justine and the Prophets
[This is a work of fiction, and is part of my God-Talk club series. For more information follow the link.] The God-Talk Club was gathered at the cafe, and everyone was fairly quiet. Even Ellen, who was normally their waitress was seated with them, claiming that she just happened to be getting off work. She…
The God-Talk Club – Tornadoes!
[This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between the characters and real people or the places and real places is strictly accidental. What’s more, this is practice fiction, wherein I practice writing dialogue, so any resemblance to real fiction is accidental as well. This is the second of the series. I introduced the God-Talk…