Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
My two biggest passions in ministry are preaching and leadership. I recently blogged the role of preaching where I reflected on my journey as a preacher. My leadership journey, like my preaching journey, also began early on in my spiritual journey. The standard question is whether leaders are born or made (i.e., nature vs. nurture). … Read more
I have now reached Level 3 (of 5) in the HealthMiles incentives program, less than 2.5 months after activating the GoZone pedometer that came with the program, offered through our conference’s health insurance plan (see my first post, Racking Up HealthMiles). When I reached Level 2, I estimated that it might take about 60 days … Read more
I realize that the Easter holiday was two weeks ago, but if we’re not careful, Easter (like Christmas) can become just another holiday that we celebrate simply because it’s on the calendar. That seems to be the case for people who attend worship gatherings mainly at Christmas and Easter. But even those of us who … Read more
I grew up in a tradition where preaching was highly valued, so much so that a call to ministry was commonly described as a “call to preach.” As I began processing God’s call on my own life, I naturally focused on preaching above everything else. Interestingly, two years into my ministry journey, during my senior … Read more
Last month, the Centre Grove Church Council discussed Radical Hospitality, which included a thorough walk-through of the church facilities (trying to view them through the eyes of a newcomer). This month, as part of our ongoing discussion of Bishop Schnase’s Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, we focused on two important areas related to our hospitality. … Read more
We took Ethan to the Jaffa Shrine Circus in Altoona Friday and enjoyed our day off together. Ethan enjoyed the day and the animals. It was a pretty professional circus. Ethan didn’t seem to like the trapeze artist. Ethan said, “Down!” 🙂 Here are a few photos from the day, including a visit at the … Read more
Everyone has limitations, which means that no one can do everything. But while everyone has limitations, not everyone knows their limitations. When you don’t know your limitations, you’re likely to spend too much time doing things you’re not gifted to do (of course, we all have to do things we’re not gifted to do occasionally, … Read more
This was our second Easter with Ethan. Last year, he had been with us a little over a month. As you can tell from the photos below (taken this weekend), Ethan has grown a lot in the past year! As you might imagine, Easter is a particularly busy time for a clergy family with two … Read more
Ethan is enjoying the Easter activities this year. Last weekend we were at the Flaugh Family Easter dinner. Ethan didn’t have any trouble deciphering what to do at the Easter Egg Hunt. He didn’t have any competition, though. He’s the youngest and he’s the only grandson within the age of being interested in an Easter … Read more
A few days ago I said that I’d blog some reflections on our reading of Methodist history, some serious, some less serious. This is the less serious one. Today, the popular slogan of The United Methodist Church … Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. That slogan came to mind when we read a statement that … Read more