I’m not ready to *not* make nice…

Howdy, y’all, from down here in Nashville! I’m attending the United Methodist Association of Communicators’ Annual Meeting (about which I will say more later), where this blog, that’s right, this very one, has been awarded Best in Class for non-fiction in the local church category.
No pressure there.
So, on to being relevant. Today, my inbox was [...]

Sometimes God speaks by slapping you upside the head.

When I wrote earlier about hearing the call to ministry, a few people asked about the specific moment itself. I tend not to talk about it too much, not only because people look at you funny if you say you hear voices in your head, but because sometimes it’s discouraging to people who don’t have [...]

Hearing the call

The hardest part of discerning a call to ministry for me was believing it was possible.
I was raised by parents who told me I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so it wasn’t that I didn’t think the sky was the limit. And yes, I was Roman Catholic, and so I’d never [...]

I have, like, the best job ever.

I really do enjoy my job.
It amazes me sometimes. Sure, it’s difficult, and draining and chellenging some days. Sure, there are times when it seems like many of my days are filled with finding (and losing) paperwork, looking for prayers to go with a particular theme, and attending marathon meetings. But around that stuff, between [...]

Day Off

Mondays are my sabbath days, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a day of rest. Sometimes, what really rejuvenates me is getting to do projects I love or to dream about ministry (and maybe even do a little of it, which I don’t consider cheating) without being ‘on the clock.’
So for example, today, on my day [...]

Warning: Pastor on the Loose!

Maybe a church or two on the loose, too!
I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s because they ordained me and now I’ve got an extra shot of the Spirit in me or something. Maybe it’s because I took a little time off over the past couple of weeks and got more rejuvenated than I [...]

It does feel different.

I feel like I missed a lot of Conference. Or maybe it’s just that it’s blurry and I only remember the big things.
I preached Wednesday night for the opening memorial service, a tremendous honor that had me sweating glowing like crazy and more nervous than I remember being. Of course the actual sermon was not [...]

Parting thoughts

I’m off to Troy Annual Conference, where I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time blogging, tweeting, updating facebook status, and oh yeah doing exciting things like legislation and preaching to a huge audience and getting ordained.
I love conference.
But before I go, this happy thought from tonight’s Finance Committee portion of our Church Council/Finance Committee meeting.
First [...]

Link Love!

This totally made my day. Maybe my week. Not my month, but there’s some cool stuff happening this month.
Way, way down on his list of podcast he likes, Matt writes:
We Your People, Ours the Journey
These are the sermons of Rebecca Clark, aka @pastorbecca, a Methodist pastor in the US. I really enjoy her sincere, sensible [...]

In the midst of death, we also live.

I love my kid; she keeps life light.
I was in the shower this morning, working on my eulogy (because that’s where I always work on my sermons, don’t you?). Arianna was obviously playing hide-and-seek with my brother-in-law, because just as I was reaching the second transition in the eulogy (and the conditioner), the bathroom door [...]