I am a United Methodist Conference junkie. I love the debate and worship, interaction and holy conferencing. I love getting up to the microphone to speak. I love friendly amendments and the crazy insane process… at its best. I know there are times when it gets out of control and is painful and frustrating. There…
Ministry in Heels
life as a young adult pastor
IAUMC13
I am a United Methodist Conference junkie. I love the debate and worship, interaction and holy conferencing. I love getting up to the microphone to speak. I love friendly amendments and the crazy insane process… at its best. I know there are times when it gets out of control and is painful and frustrating. There…
Driving Behind a Trooper
I hopped on the interstate, fresh from an invigorating meeting, ready to put the pedal to the metal and get home. I had an hour and forty minute drive ahead of me, so with an energy drink and a bag of pretzels in my passenger seat I was prepared to settle in, set my cruise…
Light Still Shines…
In the last two weeks, I have been talking with a lot of folks across Iowa. I spent some time with clergy in Des Moines and then in Hampton at Laity Day. I preached in DeWitt and organized folks in Mount Pleasant. I worked with folks in Tama. And I’ve made phone calls to at…
Coffee making ladies…
Tonight I had a presentation scheduled in Tama/Toledo. These two little towns are so close I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. And based on my introductory sentence, you might guess that I wasn’t exactly sure which one I was supposed to be in! You see, many little towns in Iowa still…
Honey Badgers, Anxiety, and the future of the church
At our conference Orders Event a few weeks ago, we talked a lot about being anxious. The talk was from a systems theory perspective and focused on how pastors need to be non-anxious participants in the system to effectively lead change and help the system to be healthy. I’m not going to comment on the…
salvaging a forgotten purpose
Six years ago, I purchased a FranklinCovey planner. And then technology changed and I started keeping track of my calendar through gmail and with a smart phone it is so convenient to have that electronic copy everywhere. The planner had long since been hiding in a closet. But as I have been traveling and having…
My Book of Resolutions
Resolution 2013.1 WHEREAS, my change in job has caused some stress in my family life WHEREAS, stability is sometimes more important than flexibility WHEREAS, I need to remember this job is a marathon, not a sprint THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that I will prayerfully (and with consulatation from my husband) discern my schedule in the…