Today, I saw an article by Rev. Dr. Steve Harper, the former Vice President and Dean of the Florida Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary called “UMC: Revisiting Human Sexuality.” He writes about a topic that has arisen at every General Conference in my lifetime… and will again in May. My only experience of this discussion at…
The Body of Christ
we are the church
Momentum for Life: Vision for Immanuel
God spoke: Write this! Write what you see! Write it out in big block letters so it can be read on the run! And when God gives a vision aids our momentum. It paints a picture of the future that drives us forward because we can’t wait to get there. God’s vision aches for…
Blogging as a form of Public Theology
I just spent the last couple of days in Washington, D.C. exploring what it means to be a public theologian. Over the last year, I have been part of the Lewis Center’s Community Leadership Fellows Program. We have gathered for three day sessions together at Wesley’s downtown campus in order to reflect upon the role…
Tables and Holy Experiences
I have a sense of my first Maundy Thursday service, but I can’t quite place where it falls in my history. I was not a child, but not yet fully grown. Perhaps it was high school, or maybe somewhere in my college years. I have a sense of a fellowship area, a place not just…
Untitled
It was a Monday afternoon, in Marengo, and a young woman walked into the church and asked to use the telephone. Not a problem, I said. And while she sat in the office dialing numbers and getting no response, I sat at my desk trying to pick out hymns for worship the next Sunday. Are…
One step behind
I have been part of the Lewis Community Leadership Fellows this past year and this week we are gathering for another seminar… This time on public health. I feel utterly blessed to be in this community of colleagues at this point in my ministry. To deeply reflect with other pastors is always good. However, it…
Sitting REALLY close #NaBloPoMo
Yesterday morning in worship, I had the opportunity to sit in the pews at the first church I served. While I had a part to play, I also got to sit back and worship with the people. A toddler was next to me and at one point, he leaned in really close, and propped up…
Reproducing in the Church #NaBloPoMo
I was sitting at a conference with some friends and the speaker kept lifting up the decline in membership of the United Methodist Church. One of the reasons cited was United Methodists were having less children than we used to. And the four of us all stole a glance at one another. The speaker was…