Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
If you’ve had a chance to read my post about the World Help Children’s Choir, whom we heard and experienced in Tennessee last November, you’ll understand why I was thrilled when the opportunity availed itself to bring a similar choir to West Side UMC. The Watoto Children’s Choir will perform a “Concert of Hope” at … Read more
While visiting Randy’s family in Tennessee over Thanksgiving we had the privilege of hearing one of the World Help Children’s Choirs (YouTube Channel). Randy’s family was also host to two of the girls from Uganda (Ritah and Juliet) and a chaperone. It was a wonderful experience. One of the things that touched me most was … Read more
At the Bishop’s Retreat this week, Tex Sample talked about how we are formed by our practices (see other learnings here). Because of that, we need to choose good practices. I think this is one reason why habits, disciplines, systems and routines are important to me. It’s not just about finding an easier, faster way … Read more
At the beginning of this week, we arrived at the Bishop’s Retreat at the Willow Valley Resort in Lancaster, PA. While there, we witnessed the history-making inauguration as a group by way of the TV. And we also experienced some great teaching by Tex Sample, focusing on telling the Story. Here are some quotes and/or … Read more
After church services on Sunday, we ate lunch and hurriedly packed for our trip to the Willow Valley Resort, the location of the Bishop’s Retreat (an annual gathering for clergy families from our conference). This is our first time attending the Bishop’s Retreat. Tex Sample is the guest speaker this year; he was also the … Read more
On Sunday, Joleen, Ethan, and I attended our district’s first (of what may become an annual event) “local pastor sabbath.” It was intended to be an opportunity for Local Pastors (and Student Pastors and Appointed Lay Speakers) to share a day off together. We gathered at Gethsemane United Methodist Church in Allport (located across the … Read more
Tonight, as I rushed out of COR’s sanctuary at the conclusion of Leadership Institute, I found myself having a familiar conversation with God … I want to change the world! That conversation was reawakened in me at a Chris Tomlin concert last year in State College. Well, since it’s late and we have to get … Read more
From today’s marathon day, three concepts stood out from today’s sessions, which all come out of a desire to impact non-religious or nominally-religious people. Adam Hamilton, in some of his final thoughts, talked about his approach to preaching. While many of us were taught in seminary to follow something like this: Start with Bible Exegete … Read more
Yesterday, we spent nearly 12 hours getting from Clearfield, PA to our destination in the greater Kansas City area. While our two flights were short (45 minutes to Dulles, then 2 hours to Kansas City), we had a long 4 hour layover in DC. After our State College District group rented 2 large SUVs, we … Read more
A few months ago, we wrote about attending Leadership Institute, a 2-day conference hosted by The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (COR). Well, the has come for this event. Tomorrow, we travel to Kansas City (we’ll return Saturday). We’re excited about attending this event with a group of pastors from four districts in our … Read more