I was providing chaplain services at the bedside of a woman dying of cancer. She hadn’t eaten or drank anything for days. She had been sleeping and unresponsive during that time. The nurses knew and had told us that she was actively dying. As we stood quietly by her bed, we talked to her and about her, encouraging one another. Suddenly, a male nurse she had been quite fond of walked into the room. “Hello Mary,” he boomed with his deep base voice. “HI!!!” she shouted back sending the rest of us flying backwards in shock! It was the last thing we expected. While this was the last word she ever spoke, it just showed us that she was still with us in the moment. I also remember a somewhat darkly

Recently, I heard a Christian commentator describing how exaggeration—especially of the negative—spreads. For example, “Everyone hates this,” might be the opening salvo to a pastor or leader. “Of course, both the pastor and the speaker know,” the commentator said, “that ‘everyone’ isn’t literally ‘every-one.” Still, the case is presented as if there was a consensus about the failure of a ministry or the general distaste for it. This probably isn't true. Still, I’ve seen and felt this approach used for years. The problem with it is that it's a form of bullying. It's muscle via exaggeration for the purpose of proving a point or getting one's way. Good shepherds or leaders know better than to o