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Good reminder as we plow through our dissertation work! Awhile back we wrote about the movie, “Meet the Robinsons.” Recently, in the midst of pretty intense dissertation work, we remembered a key phrase from the movie: “Keep moving forward!” It’s great advice for whatever stage of life’s journey we find ourselves in. In our case, … Read more
There’s a line drawn down the middle of the room. Step up to the line if you ever …* Heard God call, but hurried on with “life”. Spent more time in prayer asking God for things than asking God what He wanted for you or your loved one. Put up walls to keep others (and … Read more
A few years ago, we came across a great weekly guide for praying for pastors. It comes from Dan Reiland’s book, Shoulder to Shoulder: Strengthening Your Church by Supporting Your Pastor. We encourage our parishioners to pray for us, and for everyone to pray for their pastors! Monday: Pray for your pastor’s family. God’s peace … Read more
Randy’s sermon series on 1 Corinthians 13. I recently did a 4-week series on 1 Corinthians 13. Each week we read the chapter in a different translation: NKJV, NASB, NLT, and The Message. Interestingly, the end of 1 Corinthians 12 says this: “But now let me show you a way of life that is best … Read more
In prayer, sometimes you need to surrender, sometimes you need to persist. In July 2005, we had a class with Drs. Jim & Molly Scott called, “The Transformation of the Church.” It was a very dynamic and incredible experience. One of the things that I remember most was a statement about prayer. Molly said that … Read more
A youth devotional using “Night at the Museum” A few weeks ago, at a youth lock-in, I shared the following devotion with the youth based on the movie, Night at the Museum. What makes you happy? What do you enjoy doing? When was the last time you did something that really made you happy? There … Read more
We returned from Annual Conference Saturday evening. It was a long, but good, four days. There was a lot of intense (but respectful) discussion this year. Overall, it was a very good conference. We had great guest speakers, Dr. Tex Sample and Dr. Charles Yrigoyen. Tex is an excellent communicator and storyteller and Chuck did … Read more
The rest of the week is set aside for “holy conferencing.” This evening, we’re heading to Messiah College, where members of the Central Pennsylvania Conference will gather for Annual Conference, Wednesday through Saturday. The theme of Annual Conference will be “Leap of Faith!” Earlier, we wrote a brief preview. John Wesley described these types of … Read more
The amazing story of Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers. We recently watched the movie, Freedom Writers. The movie is based on a true story, involving, Erin Gruwell, a new 21-year-old high school English teacher, who seeks to be a change agent for a group of Black, Latino, and Asian gang members at Woodrow Wilson … Read more
Reflections on the direction of the United Methodist Church. We just read an article describing Bishop Janice Riggle Huie’s address to the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church: Bishops’ President Calls For New Church Movement. Bishop Huie, President of the Council of Bishops, challenged the leaders to reclaim the denomination’s heritage as a … Read more