The Good Stuff

Small Inns and Good Friday articles

Small Inns

Last week I had a board retreat in Anderson, SC, a mid-size town in South Carolina’s Upstate region. We stayed at the Bleckley Inn, a small inn in the center of town. I don’t know how many rooms it has – maybe 20? I was in Room 8. It wasn’t a historic property, but instead a slightly eccentric architectural mishmash that combined old structures with a previous history with new elements.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there, and I realized I’ve gotten in the habit of staying at smaller inns when I travel. Each has its unique aspects. The Bleckley has well-appointed rooms, and best of all an old-fashioned lobby area with overstuffed chairs. I came downstairs with my Bible in the morning, got some coffee, and had my quiet time in a pleasant corner. I was the only one there until about 7:30. My interactions with the inn’s staff were pleasant, with more of a personal feel than you usually get in a business hotel brand.

I spend so much time surrounded by standardized fixtures, furniture, and décor, and I get no sense of place in a setting like that. Small inns can have their quirks, and gaps in their service offerings, but the feeling of being in a real ‘place’ is worth it to me.

- Jack Jr.

The Bleckley Inn

Good Friday Articles

Today is Good Friday and I wanted to share a couple of articles I read this week, both of them excellent. The first one is from The Gospel Coalition on the date of the crucifixion. It’s very well done and carefully laid out, arguing for a 33AD date. I didn’t have a particularly strong feeling about the date before I read the piece but I certainly walked away convinced that 33AD is correct.

The second article is by Peter Leithart in First Things, called “God is Mocked.” It’s a really wonderful meditation on the humiliations of Jesus. It also helped give me a sense of scope of the Roman mockery, as the Bible says that a “whole cohort” performed a mock coronation for Jesus. I’ve always pictured that moment as a small group of soldiers in a ring around him, with the crown of thorns and reed for a scepter. But a cohort would have been about 600 men. That is a much different scene, a much different kind of “ceremony” they are playacting. It becomes something actually befitting the moment, although they mean it to be cruel. The entire piece is about how all of the mockery is turned back on the mockers, without them realizing it. Very fitting for a day when the worst mankind could do was transformed into the thing they needed most.

- Jack III

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Jack Jr.’s new book, Becoming Yourself: A Perspective on Christian Character is now in print. You can order your copy HERE at our website