Gary Shogren's Blog
As someone who does an average of 50%+ of his work from his own office, being obligated to stay at home or work full-time from home is not a chore. However, I do appreciate that many will find it boring and bewildering, and for some, it will lead to emotional turmoil or even depression or... Continue Reading →
Coronavirus! Here is, I hope, the last thing I'll say on this matter. People are uncovering, as they always do with any and every scary event, COVID-19 buried deeply in some mystical Hebrew code. For example, one guy finds COVID and the accidental death of KOBE - as in the late basketball player - predicted... Continue Reading →
"My pastor doesn’t tell us how to vote! What he does is give out a score card that describes what the issues are [remember that phrase!] and then shows what each candidate stands for. But then he tells us to make up our own minds!" Anyway, that's the word on the street. Let’s look at two... Continue Reading →
Every year I join the Goodreads Reading Challenge (take a look at the wonderful site, http://www.goodreads.com, where you can log your reading). This year, as in the past few years, I have set the goal of reading 104 books, an average of two per week. Some are shorter novellas or tractates, some are long novels... Continue Reading →
There is a whole genre of exposé literature, interviews, videos that follow this familiar formula: “I am an ex-[whatever] and I am going to reveal the shocking inside secrets.” Ex-Communist. Ex-Janitor at Area 51. Ex-Catholic priest (Charles Chiniquy, Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, 1885). Ex Guy-who-sprayed-chemtrails-from-my-jet (see below). Ex-Jesuit (Jack Chick's man, "Alberto,"... Continue Reading →
Once in a while I link to an article which I found to have great insight. While I was doing some reading on the anti-vaxxer movement I came across this one from the close of the 2016 political season. As the article hints, it is shocking to see the number of evangelical preachers who use... Continue Reading →
To download the entire file click here: SHOGREN_ILE conference 2018, Lost Your Life No Problem Christ has it in Safekeeping Mark 10:28 – Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” Note: This series was given to students at the Spanish Language Institute in San José, Costa Rica. Most of them were learning... Continue Reading →
I have been working on and off for the past few years on a new book. It is a real departure for me, working through how to face ministry disappointments, whether minor or major. What happens when God's servants face apathy, ingratitude, racism, psychological issues, physical ailments, lies, and other problems? Our solution is not... Continue Reading →
Ideally, a young girl should grow up surrounded by love; the adults in her life should be dependable; they should respect boundaries; they should alleviate fear rather than stir it up. We instinctively feel that all of these shoulds ought to be a given. But the sad reality is that a large percentage of girls,... Continue Reading →
Here is a snapshot of one and the same website, once in early September, once in early October. BEFORE AND AFTER STILL LATER - it still looks the same! "Currently offline!" These are not Photoshopped, by the way, except to blur out the website address. Which was a very gracious act on my part. By... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 