I grew up surrounded by Republicans. As we baled hay in the fields and made pies in the kitchen it was Rush Limbaugh blaring on the radio between farm reports. I was surrounded with suspicion about Clinton and rumors and scandal. I also had this idea of my mom as the rebel Democrat… secretly keeping…
The Body of Christ
we are the church
Mission Makes Disciples
I knew that Imagine No Malaria was about saving lives. I knew it was about God’s mission. But the more I sit in training, the more I hear the stories of people impacted by the campaign, the more I understand the training and empowerment of both church folk in the U.S. and the on the…
Assumptions
I remember vividly a leadership event when I was in middle school. Well, I vividly remember two things about it. First – we were at Kirkwood Community College and we got to eat in their awesome cafeteria and drink Clearly Canadian sparkling water. For some reason, that was a big deal 😉 Second, there was…
And now for something completely different…
The following is the announcement I made this morning at our worship service. This morning, I need to share with all of you some rather big news. This is not going to be easy to say, so I’m just going to come out and say it. Starting October 1, I am beginning a new journey…
The Spirit of the Damascus Road
If one is going to preach through the book of Acts, you can’t leave out the story of the transformation and conversation of Saul/Paul. It is a chapter I have heard many times, from many different angles, and recently heard powerfully preached by Bishop Palmer at our Iowa annual conference. Sometimes, having an overwhelming number…
Jurisdictional Conference Day 4
Yes, I realize I went from Day 0 to Day 4… so much transpiring with not a whole lot of time to really sit and reflect. This being my first Jurisdictional conference, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. We had some amazing preaching, reports of shared jurisdictional ministries, elections to General Agencies and jurisdictional…
Jurisdictional Conference Day 0
Yesterday, I flew in to Akron/Canton and started this crazy adventure called Jurisdictional Conference. I’m still not quite sure what we are doing except for electing bishops (which we aren’t this year) and moving bishops (which a committee will take care of) and nominating and electing people to general agencies (which is also mostly committee…
Turning the Other Cheek and the American Justice System
Yesterday, the Tuesday morning small group at my church had an interesting conversation. Is it possible or practical to follow the commands of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in this world? Can we do it? And what barriers do we face if we try? We were focusing on the verses about turning the other…