This Sunday, I wanted to share with the children that the gifts we have are meant to be shared. I invited them to imagine what would happen if they were given a dollar, or found a dollar on the ground. I held out four quarters in my hand. “What can you do with a dollar?”…
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…
Mercy Trumps Judgment
The UnitedMethodistChurch has a mission. We have been called by God to make disciples of Jesus Christ FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD. That last piece… for the transformation of the world… is a recent addition to our mission, but it speaks volumes about who we believe God has called us to be. We believe…
Words and Deeds
How many of you have facebook? How many of you have no clue what facebook is? One of the great things about facebook is that you can connect with people from various parts of your life all at once. And my friends span the spectrum from extreme liberals to die hard conservatives. I don’t have…
The Spirit of Debate
I love to have a good argument! One of my favorite memories from college was debating with my good friend, Brian Johnson. We argued about anything and everything… politics, religion, who could marry, why you shouldn’t marry, our favorite philosophers, the best movie, you get the picture. There was something about a debate with Mr.…
Spirit of Household Salvation
Religion is social. Religion is corporate. Religion is political. As Christianity spread in the time of the apostles and beyond, it was often not the work of one-on-one conversations and personal confessions of faith, but of corporate conversions… of whole nations turning from one religion to another. I did some reading this week about the…
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…
labeling cans of corn
The project site I am working at for the first two days of our mission trip is the Emergency Foodshelf Network. They distribute food to about 70 area foodshelfs and help to channel donations from organizations and larger corporations. Including cans… without labels. Part of our job yesterday was to begin making a dent in…