Eileen meant well, she was just misinformed! She thought that the Church had hired me to do the work of ministry. Almost every congregation I have ever served has had an “Eileen” or an “Ernest.” They believe that you pay the preacher and that he or she is responsible to...
Dr. Vance P. Ross, former Associate General Secretary for the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, is fond of saying that every church should ask two recurring questions: 1. “What is our business?” 2. “How is business?” Jesus was great at vision casting. He told the Disciples who he was,...
We were living in rural Arkansas. My parents were dirt poor share-croppers. The house we lived in had no insulation, no running water, and you could literally see daylight through the cracks in the building. When winter came we were miserable! Our bedroom, the “boy’s room,” held two standard sized...
The Church, with all of its issues and challenges, and in spite of the gloomy forecast by the naysayers, is not going to quietly fade away. In fact, the Church of Jesus Christ is going to get stronger and stronger because the Church is still the hope of the World. ...
Happy New Year! I can hardly wait to see what this New Year will bring. It has been an interesting beginning. We have already had record cold temperatures across the Country, unexpected snow falls in places that traditionally do not get any snow, devastating coastal waves, and we have seen...
Catching fish is great! Two weeks ago I put all of my fishing knowledge to work and it paid off. Two preacher friends, Bob Vale and Ken Mansfield, joined me on a cat fishing trip to South Carolina. On our first day out we caught six fish. Now that is...
If God wanted to speak to you would you listen? The story of Moses and the burning bush is a great story. It is fascinating because God caused Moses to “turn aside” and to pay attention in order that God could share with Moses a unique opportunity and calling. I...
“If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, then he is not Lord at all!”
“We are connected by Christ but called to be an outward facing circle of people; seeking, reaching, and welcoming others to join us in serving Jesus Christ.” The Methodist Church has always emphasized both the vertical relationship and the horizontal relationship as being crucial components of a complete life. One...
Jesus is at the center of everything we do! It seems silly to announce to a christian church that Jesus is going to be our primary focus. But there are so many churches where Jesus does not receive first or even second place status. There are any number of churches...
