Today was another great day here on the Sea of Galilee. Here are a couple of random thoughts about the trip so far: 1) The best places for me so far are the chances we have gotten to get away from the touristy “sacred” sites and out into the real world. Today we got to […]
When I think about traveling to the Holy Land the image that usually comes to mind involves dirt and rocks, with the dominant color being tan. That is not at all what it’s like around the Sea of Galilee in Tagbha. I told someone earlier today that I didn’t realize that I was traveling to […]
One of the things about coming to this place is that we are so familiar with the stories of faith that we think we have some sense of what the place will be like. For those of us who have gone deeper in our biblical education, we have studied maps, seen pictures of the surroundings, […]
I’m sitting on the patio here at Pilgerhaus watching the wild parrots fly by, listening to the wind blow off the Sea of Galilee, and trying to tune out the theological argument at the next table. The winds are strong this afternoon, which feels great but I could imagine are a bit fearful when you […]
I don’t want to hog the lobby computer but I did want to make a quick post saying hi from Tagbha, Israel. I think I have just figured out how to blog via the Palm so hopefully I can write more later, but until then I will simply say that we’re having a great time […]
I don’t leave until tomorrow, so I have been checking out the GC web sites to see what is happening. One smart thing they have done this year is to schedule orientations for delegates all day and waiting to start the opening worship until tonight. In past years the conference opening worship was usually in […]
Tony has put together a great video. I look forward to more in the series.
This is a week of countdowns for the people called Methodists. For most it is the countdown to General Conference, the gathering of United Methodists from around the globe to rewrite our book of church guidance and law that we call the Book of Discipline. All over the world people are packing and getting on […]
In the previous two posts I presented a dichotomy between leadership styles, attempting to recognize both the good and bad in each form of leadership. There are certainly times when a top-down, authoritarian approach is justified, especially with simple decisions that seem to be paralyzing the organization. There are times with a “ground-up” approach is […]
In my last post I noted a particular style of leadership that places the responsibility of cultural changes in an organization in the hands of a charismatic leader endowed with a strong vision. This “top down” approach to leadership has been part of the history of the church since the beginning, and can be a […]
One of the continuing conversations in the church is the need for radical change. It is in fact an age old conversation, going back to the Apostle Paul’s way out call for the church to accept Gentiles. The reformers that led to the streams of faith that I inhabit likewise were agents of change, calling […]
My last posted listed a website where we are holding court on Tony Jones’ “The Sacred Way.” Unfortunately the url was missing a few characters and folks have been visiting someone else. The real url is http://thesacredway.wordpress.com. Sorry for the confusion.
…we made 12,000 biscuits!
This is a short advertisement and invitation for all readers of this blog to join the Sunday School class I teach at http://www.sacredway.wordpress.com for conversation on Tony Jones’ book “The Sacred Way.” This is an excellent book on spirituality and faith practices, and I would love as many as are able to join us in […]
This coming Monday, a group of persons will be gathering at the Arlington United Methodist Church in a first attempt to address the concerns raised in the recent actions of the TN Conference Council on Connectional Ministries to discontinue the staff positions for youth and children’s ministries (see the bottom of this article for a […]
Were God to be found overseas, I too would take ship and go. But since God is near to all that call upon him, there is no constraint upon us to seek him overseas. For from every land there is a way to the kingdom of Heaven. –Samthann of Clonbroney
only wonder understands