Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, had a legendary work ethic, travelling thousands of miles by horseback, preaching thousands of sermons over the course of his long life, and starting a global movement, in the process. Wesley was very disciplined. In fact, it’s no surprise that the UMC’s official book is called the “Book of … Read more
This is another revision of my preaching prayer guide (see Desperate Preachers 1.0 and 2.0). It undergoes revisions every week. Since the last post, I’ve gone from phrases to keywords, which gives more freedom. So, for what it’s worth here’s the latest desperate preacher’s prayer guide … Lord, prepare me to communicate your message to … Read more
Three months ago, I wrote that I started using Twitter (click here for my Twitter stream). I also wrote about Twitter Web Apps shortly after that (which probably needs updating). Over the last few months, I’ve marked a number of tweets as “favorites.” Periodically, I’ll blog some of my favorite favorites—statements that inspire and challenge … Read more
Ater church today, we were able to take a few photos before Ethan and Sarah crashed following their Sunday morning routine of Sunday school, worship … and Mommy and Daddy’s early morning, last-minute prep. No easy task! In October 2009, I wrote in on our first full day together as a family of four that … Read more
In 2008, I wrote a couple posts on task management (see Task Management and Task Management 2.0). My previous posts focused on specific systems, but even after checking out different systems, I keep coming back to my own. I’ll keep looking, for ideas, if nothing else, but here I want to focus on “time management.” … Read more
Today, clergy and lay members from more than 950 churches throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania gathered in Williamsport at the Williamsport Arts Center to form a new conference, the Susquehanna Conference, a Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church. It was the culmination of years of prayer, discernment, and planning. Joleen and I left home … Read more
We spent 8 full days in Korea in February 2008 when we picked up Ethan and 4 full days in October 2009 when we picked up Sarah. We wrote a number of posts while we were there both times, which has helped us remember more than we would have remembered otherwise. It was an especially … Read more
During the first couple of years after responding to God’s call to ministry as a 19-year-old kid, my favorite reading was journals and memoirs of great preachers from the past, people God has used to lead times of spiritual awakening. After arriving at Centre Grove UMC in July 2008, I spent a little time in … Read more
Ethan is three years old today. We celebrated his birthday on Sunday with his babysitters and Sunday morning caregivers at our place. Ethan enjoyed spending time with everyone, and he certainly enjoyed all the attention!
I say “surviving” rather than “survived” because, technically, we’re between sessions of Annual Conference this year. Last weekend, the Central Pennsylvania Conference held its 222nd and final session. This coming Saturday will be the first Annual Conference of the new Susquehanna Conference (with a special session to be held later in September). Ethan was with … Read more