Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
I’ve always loved the book of Psalms. I am often reading through the psalms. In fact, in the earlier days of my journey, I followed what I heard was Billy Graham’s system for reading Psalms and Proverbs (5 psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs per day, reading through each book once a month). I want … Read more
For Earth Day, Ethan’s Kindergarten class put on a special Earth Day program. The class, which spent weeks preparing, did a great job. And, we are very proud of Ethan! The one-hour program included a few songs, some readings, a “video book” (an edited video of each child reading a page from a book), planting … Read more
Both of the churches we serve participate in the Sierra Leone Initiative, which allows us to partner with United Methodist churches in Sierra Leone. Two guests from Sierra Leone are currently touring churches in our conference, reporting on the work in their country. We met both of them this past weekend, and one of them, … Read more
In recent months, I’ve been trying to improve my sleep. I just read an article by Tony Schwartz, Sleep is More Important Than Food, which is challenging me to be even more intentional. For most of my life, I’ve taken sleep for granted. When I was a kid, I thought sleep was a waste of … Read more
Preaching is one of my primary tasks as a pastor. So, it’s something I must continually develop (see Developing the Preaching Gift and Honing My Craft). In Doing Church as a Team, Wayne Cordeiro writes, “When we stop learning, we just stop.” Cordeiro relates the story of Jigoro Kano, who … founded the art of … Read more
The Church needs endurance! I’m writing a series of prayers for the Church, offering a prayer on a different topic each week. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening, transformational leaders, urgency, hope, health, compassion, action, unity, power, and favor. Endurance is an essential quality for followers of Jesus. And, it’s been on my mind a … Read more
Today, I spoke at our local ministerium’s weekly Lenten Lunch service (services last from 12:05 to 12:30, followed by lunch in a different church each week during Lent). Today, we were at West Side UMC, where my wife is the pastor. It was a rare opportunity for the two of us to serve together. This … Read more
The Church needs favor! I’m writing a series of prayers for the Church, offering a prayer on a different topic each week. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening, transformational leaders, urgency, hope, health, compassion, action, unity, and power. With God’s favor, anything is possible! O God, we belong to you. You have called us and … Read more
TED is a great place for ideas and inspiration. And, as a communicator, I like to watch them to inspire me to be a better communicator. In fact, I’ve recently started watching TED Talks while walking on the treadmill (at least once a week) as part of my strategy to grow as a communicator. TED … Read more
The Church needs power! I’m writing a series of prayers for the Church, offering a prayer on a different topic each week. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening, transformational leaders, urgency, hope, health, compassion, action, and unity. Jesus said … you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will … Read more