Liam (the son I will never know)

Re-Conversion (Sumner, Illinois, circa 1996) Sometime in late 1992, I attended a seminar on how to do ministry with Senior Adults held in Peoria, Illinois. There was this feeble, little man who inched up to the platform (like Tim Conway used to do on the “Carol Burnett Show”) and opened the thing up by proclaiming

Zambora the Gorilla Woman (and the proper role of grandparents)

With the DuQuoin State Fair ending today, I thought I would pass along my favorite Fair story circa 1993.  This one is contained in “Exactly As I Remember It.” Zambora the Gorilla Woman (DuQuoin, Illinois, circa 1993)   There is no better grandfather in the world than Fred Bishop.  He was born for the job. 

Forgetting to Remember (What Grandchildren Teach Us)

Forgetting to Remember (Fairview Heights, Illinois, circa 2009) I had a really bad day.  Nothing really went wrong but I couldn’t find the hours to accomplish what I needed to do.  As the day wore on and deadlines approached, my mood became worse and worse.  By late afternoon I had clearly deteriorated from affably ineffective

Church Discipline (and the invention of worship percussion?)

Church Discipline (Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1969) Dad is a southpaw.  There are two files in my memory that verify this fact.  One concerns the fact I could never use his baseball glove.  I could catch with it but I always threw like a girl.  (These days girls throw really well, so I have no

Crazy About Them (Poop-a-geddon)

A story called “Harold” seemed to define the first several years of my ministry.  This story is taking its place as my favorite.  Less gritty, more grace.  I must be getting older.  This one is in my new book “Re:member.”   Crazy About Them (Fairview Heights, Illinois circa 2013)   Fridays are normally a day

Should You MAKE Students Go to Church?

A few years back, I taught our annual Confirmation Class at Christ Church.  We called it Next Step (sounds cooler) but it was a Confirmation Class.  Most of the students are Jr. High(ish) with a few younger and a few older.  I held the first and final sessions with parents or sponsors attending and I was often

Swiftly and From the Left Side (on national left handers day)

 

Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery

This video on the Seventh Commandment from the TEN series was my most downloaded and watched sermon video of 2013. Here it is again if you missed it. -Rev. Shane L. Bishop Christ Church, Fairview Heights, Illinois

The Irrepressible Fred Bishop

Praise-a-Thons (Herrin, Illinois, circa 1988) For a while in the late 80’s, dad was active in Christian television.  Active in the same sense piranha are active when they encounter meat.  It was really a pretty good fit.  Television loves larger than life personalities and Fred Bishop is larger than several lives.  Dad loves to learn

Early Marriage Tactical Error #2 (From Re:member)

Early Marriage Tactical Error #2 (Louisville, Illinois circa 1985) I had landed a job teaching and coaching at the Jr. High School of North Clay Unit 25 immediately upon my graduation from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  I taught seventh and eighth grade American history and coached baseball and basketball.  My teaching job paid about