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Moving to California in 3 Easy Steps
Moving from Nebraska to California included quite a few adventures. And it started before we moved…
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Seeking Hope in the Soap (Opera)
I’ve been thinking a lot about privilege and what it means in a diverse community. I had a chance to explore that recently in a sermon in the new congregation where I’ve been appointed.
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Recommitment
I wrote a short “From the Pastor” article for our digital and online newsletter over at UM4GI. It’s quoted below. Every year we get an amazing gift, and it’s not even for Christmas! As it turns out, the gift IS Christmas. Because every year we have the opportunity to remember that Jesus was sent to…
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Unlikely Leaders
A few weeks ago, I preached on the story of Mary and Martha in the Gospel of Luke (see Luke 10:38-42)…
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Elevation – A Sermon
This past Sunday I preached on a story from the book of Acts where a woman named Tabitha (or Dorcas if you speak Greek) was raised from the dead. I was struck by the response of Tabitha’s community and how they were willing to express the rawness of their grief. I thought the ancient story…
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More on the Bible & Homosexuality
I’ve been pretty clear previously on my stance around issues of homosexuality. See one of my earlier posts on the subject here. I continue to be outspoken. And I will not be silent. And I’m not alone. So why do I choose to continue to speak out? A 2009 book by Dr. Jack Rogers (Professor…
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Creating a Church Website
Interested in a method for an inexpensive church website? Read on…
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Airline Nightmare
Ok. So, maybe it’s not exactly a true nightmare. Stuff worse than this happens all the time. And, this sucks. And I have my own blog where I can vent. That’s the space I’m in. So I was flying home from a Continuing Education thing in San Diego yesterday. It was good, and I was…
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Bible-Based Sermons
There seem to be two basic ways that preachers organize their sermons. One group is “topical,” taking a topic and using several scripture texts to support it. The other is “textual,” taking one scripture text and exploring how it applies to the world today. Do you prefer one to the other? I do…
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On the “Guaranteed Appointment”
Many United Methodist clergy are feeling some wonder at how a recent decision by General Conference to end the tradition of “guaranteed appointments” for clergy might affect their futures. Some see hope and others don’t. And many see a broken promise.