When life gives you lemons…

... make a giving program out of lemonade! Stewardship Moment: "Be Peculiar" I needed to share some information with one of my congregations about some strange letters we'd received, and not make it too scary, and also take an opportunity to teach about tithing and challenge folks to greater giving in a fun way, so…

Sermon: Feeling the Tug

"Feeling the Tug" (June 28, 2009) Jesus took notice of a woman in incredible pain who was reaching out to him. He felt her tug on the edge of his garment, and turned to offer grace and blessing, completing her healing. Who are the people who are reaching out to us in their pain? In…

All means, well, All.

Up for debate in United Methodist Conferences around the world this month: who can decide which people are allowed membership in a local United Methodist Church. The ammendment to the UMC's Constitution, which passed General Conference in 2008 and now must pass 2/3 of all Conferences by a 2/3 vote stipulates that no one can…

Sermon: Every Little Thing

"Every Little Thing" (June 14, 2009) The story of the mustard seed growing into a mighty tree reminds us that every little thing is a blessing from God. For what small blessings are you thankful? The prayer-writing exercise (you may be able to hear some responses, but I had to crank up the amplifier so…

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…

Sermon: A Time to Plant

"A Time to Plant" (Opening Memorial Service, Troy Annual Conference, June 10, 2009) Wisdom--found in the Hebrew Bible, in Paul's letters, in Christ's words, and even in popular culture--teaches us that dying is not really dying at all, but becoming something new and more powerful than we imagine. How can this wisdom help us trust…

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…

Design your own church

In the middle of last week, the church Office Manager at Trinity and I were talking about use of space in the church and how we would re-design the building if money was no concern. This quickly became a conversation about how we would design the building if we were starting over from scratch. So…

Sermon: “It’s a God Thing”

"It's a God Thing" (June 7, 2009) Transformation and salvation and the coming of peace and justice in the world are not things that come primarily from us, but from God. Inspired by a message delivered at the Young Adult Clergy Forum by Rev. Clayton Childers, General Board of Church and Society. (John 3:1-17) ---…

What’s with the Ordination thing?

Not everyone who knows me is a church-going Methodist-loving nerd. I know, strange, but true. So some have been wondering, what is the ordination thing all about, and if I attend it, what should I do? What should I wear? Can I make cat calls? No on the last one, please. Clothes on the second…