Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Almost exactly two years, at the outset of our second year here in Clearfield, I wrote a prayer in my journal. Little did I know at the time that that prayer would stick with me. I find myself going back to it every now and then. Now as we begin our fourth year here in … Read more
One of the highlights at this year’s annual conference was Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (COR). Adam led three presentations. We attended COR’s Leadership Institute in 2008 and thoroughly enjoyed it (see post here). Here are some of the highlights from Adam’s annual conference presentations … What Leaders … Read more
Randy is the cluster leader for the Clearfield Cluster, made up of twenty United Methodist churches in the area. The pastors of the cluster meet monthly for breakfast. Recently, we added a monthly gathering for personal growth. One day a month, we meet for about 90 minutes (including lunch) to watch a leadership lesson on … Read more
Yesterday, United Methodist leaders gathered in groups around the world in more than 1,000 locations to hear and discuss the Call to Action report as part of the United Methodist Leadership Summit (you can watch the entire video at the site). While the event took place at a convenient hour for many of us, in … Read more
Yesterday, we attended an afternoon seminar in Camp Hill, PA where Rev. Bob Farr (from the Missouri Conference) was the featured speaker. Farr presented material from his upcoming book, Renovate or Die: 10 Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission. (Edited to add link for the book, now published.) Here are a few quotes from … Read more
In the 1784 edition of the Discipline (as well as a number of subsequent editions), which includes the list of Rules for Preachers, also includes a list of “smaller advices which might be of use to us.” Here’s the list (with original, archaic spellings) … Be sure never to disappoint a congregation. Begin at the … Read more
We’ve been doing a lot of reflection as we near the end of our ordination journey. One of the areas I’ve been thinking about is calling—God’s call to ministry. My understanding of God’s call have evolved over the years. When I was in Kindergarten, I knew that God called people to “preach” (my grandfather was … Read more
The most recent book of the 15 Books That Have Shaped Me as a Leader that I read was Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. While not specifically a leadership book, it’s written by a leader on a topic that leaders must develop. There are a few authors/leaders that I consider must-reads. For … Read more
A while back, I put together my list of the 15 Books That Have Shaped Me as a Leader. I’m finally getting around to blogging about An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus. There were a couple books by McManus on my list of 15. The other one is The Barbarian Way, which I have written … Read more
I listened to Bill Hybels’ message from the 2005 Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit a few times in recent months (I have it on CD so I can listen to it while driving). The talk is related to his book, Holy Discontent, which I wrote about a couple years ago; it’s also included in my … Read more