james aycock is hopeful

Thanks to a little nudge from a friend, I'm starting a new project. At my new First Responses @substack, I'll be writing about all the books I read. firstresponses.substack.com/p/a-new-beginn…

@geoff_calkins the best thing you will see today. After being banned from Brighton High, the Central High band all buy a ticket, come as the greatest student section of all time, and, when the Warriors run back an early kickoff, pull pocket kazoos & play the school fight song!

A Memphis high school marching band (Memphis Central) was banned by the opposing school’s principal (Brighton, TN) for playing “too loud.” Memphis Central brought out kazoos instead to play:

My friend Missy started a podcast last year, and she invited me on to talk about testing. Check it out... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/73XcGK… Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/23-… Episode Page: sites.libsyn.com/519618/23-the-…

From our earliest days, Black history has always been American history – and Black folks have profoundly shaped our American culture through music, art, literature, sports, and beyond. One month a year is not sufficient to celebrate the power of the movements and the people who have fought for the rights we enjoy today. That’s something that we have to do each and every day, as we strive to live up to their example and make sure our children and grandchildren remember their stories.

Go, tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere firstresponses.blogspot.com/2025/01/epipha…

“The Bible’s concern,” argue Willimon and Hauerwas, “is not if we shall believe but what we shall believe.” firstresponses.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-tw…

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in divine and human favor." firstresponses.blogspot.com/2025/01/growin…

Kindness and truth will not forsake you. Bind them round your neck, write them on your heart’s tablet, and find favor and good regard in the eyes of God and man. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-el…

"Remember, the time of year when the future appears like a blank sheet of paper a clean calendar, a new chance." firstresponses.blogspot.com/2025/01/promis…

In the beginning. That is how John’s gospel opens, mirroring the opening of Genesis. And so we are invited to see Christmas as the beginning of a new creation. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-te…

"The bad do not win — not finally, No matter how loud they are. We simply would not be here If that were so. You are made, fundamentally, from the good. With this knowledge, you never march alone." firstresponses.blogspot.com/2025/01/a-hous…

"What can be said in New Year rhymes, That’s not been said a thousand times?" firstresponses.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-bu…

Very often, churches focus on salvation. But not today’s readings. Our readings today are all about wisdom. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-ni…

Reading is political. Part of living together is learning to read together. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-ei…

"This was the year that was not the year I repaired the bathroom tap and emptied out the kitchen drawer of a lifetime’s worth of crap." firstresponses.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-ye…

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-se…

At the beginning, God declared creation good. But creation depends on - God depends on - us to make it so today. And that starts with forgiveness, letting go of that which is past. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-si…

Many of us in recent years have lost jobs or experienced financial hardship. And we’ve received meals, gift cards, help with bills, & more. Lest we take this for granted, know that this is not normal. Not in a dog-eat-dog world of competition & scarcity. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-fi…

"The prophet is not addressing behavioral problems," Brueggemann argues. "He is not even pressing for repentance. He has only the hope that the ache of God could penetrate the numbness of history.” And that numbness is something we know all too well. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-fo…

Before you set off on a journey, you must first choose a destination. But you can’t know where you want to go without first knowing WHY. The WHY will point it in a particular direction. The WHY will give us eyes to see what the future can be. firstresponses.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-th…