James Gibbons's Page

When I was a little kid, I heard a story about three blind guys (and a blind girl) who went to see an elephant. The guy who grabbed it’s tail concluded that an elephant was like a snake. The guy who grabbed the trunk concluded that an elephant was like a pillar. The guy who leaned against the side of the beast concluded that an elephant was like a wall. The girl grabbed the ear and concluded that an elephant was a like a really nice handbag (I made that part up).

I think we do the same thing wi… Continue

I was pleased to read Xulon’s blog on expository preaching a few minutes ago. He mentioned springboard messages, that start with a verse that appears to be relevant to a point the preacher wants to make and spring into the preacher’s point. Using this method, we can make strong “scriptural” cases for voting, not voting, drinking coffee, not drinking coffee, dancing, not dancing, not dancing while drinking coffee, dancing only when drinking coffee…blah, blah, blah. And he mentioned suppose… Continue

My brother has an evil sister in law. This woman, for reasons that I won’t get into, hates men. She hates men her age. She hates men older than she is. She hates men younger than she is. She hates teenage boys. She hates little boys. She probably even hates male babies.

One day, all the cousins were together. Including my brother’s 6-year-old (at the time) son, Mark, and his four girl cousins. Aunt Luella (rhymes with Cruella) decided to “take the kids for ice cream.”

So they all ran to Aunt L… Continue

I published this poem elsewhere—in a secular poetry publication, actually. Thought y’all might enjoy.


In these last days I’ve been having questions,
concerns, hard issues,
about the trumpet, about the shout,
about what comes next.

Will I hit my head on the way up?
Will it raise a bump?
Will it leave me before the glassy sea
with plaster in my hair?

Should I install timers, auto shot-off switches
on steamers, irons, stoves, and tea kettles,
So as not to leave a fire hazard behind?

If I leave… Continue

I have a problem with autumn. It’s dark. Now I hear people talk about how there’s just as much light, how beautiful the blue autumn sky is, how all the firey colors in the mountains make them just a picture. And all that is true. But it doesn’t change the fact that autumn is dark.

I suffer from a mild case of SADD, that thing where you get depressed if you don’t get enough light. I find myself wanting to go into hibernation around this time of year. The days get shorter. The nights get longer.… Continue