A Preacher’s Rant on Weddings

This past weekend, in a fit of pique that was probably less than appropriate, I left a comment on Twitter that I was thinking about forgoing officiating at weddings for any couple under the age of 25. As I should have expected, I received all sorts of comments from folks who had married young and … Continue reading A Preacher’s Rant on Weddings →

Zombie Congregations

This comes from my friend Dan Dick, formerly of GBOD: Zombies — by definition — are lifeless corpses that continue to function in an imitation of life, generally doing more damage than good. They are frightening, and if George Romero is to be believed, they seek one thing — to feed upon the living. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Zombie Congregations →

Stream of Consciousness on a Monday morning

I’m sitting at Panera in Green Hills this morning with a million different thoughts going through my mind. There are many plates spinning – our Advent happenings at the church, a number of community possibilities, and the gearing up of opposition to the English First referendum here in Nashville. Combine that with our economic recession … Continue reading Stream of Consciousness on a Monday morning →

The Golden Years

One of the realities of being a pastor in an aging church is being confronted with all of the complications that come with growing old. Yesterday, I had to tell a woman that she would likely never return to her home again. She has reached the point in life that she really can’t care for … Continue reading The Golden Years →

Dear Pastor – The Anger that Remains

Dear Pastor, I need to ask your advice in a matter that has been bothering me. It seems like all of the sudden I have people reacting to the fact that I voted for Obama, both family and friends. One in particular said some pretty disturbing things, and I can just feel the hatred. I … Continue reading Dear Pastor – The Anger that Remains →

Dear Pastor – The Anger that Remains

Another Great Found Resource

A couple of years ago, I became aware of an “alternative” youth worker’s gathering focused on ministry in urban areas. I had been familiar with Youth Specialties and the National Youth Worker’s Convention (attending several times) but the Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI) was new to me, and I’ve tried to figure out a … Continue reading Another Great Found Resource →

Suffering for the Lord

We were in a Children’s Ministries meeting when the idea first arose. “Did you hear about Loren’s birthday party,” one mom told another. “They had a food fight as part of the party!” Loren’s mom, sitting quietly across the table, piped in. “You know it's really easy to do and it’s a bunch of fun. … Continue reading Suffering for the Lord →

Creative Help Wanted!

I am leaning toward preaching a series during October on the relationship between faith and politics, leading up to the election on November 4. I’ve been wrestling with a “hook” for the series and nothing is coming to mind. Any thoughts?

Quick Question

We are doing some revamping of our care ministries in the church for folks who are no longer able to attend worship or participate in church activities due to physical and emotional limitations. We generally have called these persons "homebound" or "shut-ins," however these terms don't fully reflect the diversity of situations that we are … Continue reading Quick Question →

The Paradox of Changing Cultures

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 … Continue reading The Paradox of Changing Cultures →

Ohio Police find missing pastor from Niagara County outside strip club

“Honestly officer, da devil made me do it!” Rhett Close, Riverside Police Officer, "He started to become a little bit emotionally stressed at that point. State he didn't know how he got there or why he was even ther."While the pastor may not remember how he got to the club, at least one dancer there … Continue reading Ohio Police find missing pastor from Niagara County outside strip club →

The Kids Next Door

"Beep, beep. Beep, beep." It's not unusual for the doorbell at our front door to intrude into my afternoon thoughts. Frankly, I always cringe a bit that the front door is locked and that we have a doorbell at all, given our hope of being welcoming and inviting, however security issues are an issue here, … Continue reading The Kids Next Door →

A Last Minute Opportunity

For the past couple of months I have been thinking about and trying to pull together an event on spiritual practices to be held in our church in preparation for Lent. Today a few key things came together, so I am pleased to announce the following event for any who are interested in coming closer … Continue reading A Last Minute Opportunity →

Mopping floors as an act of ministry…

One of the ongoing tensions in pastoral leadership is the tension between offering clear leadership to the congregation, and role of empowering lay people for ministry. I think if you were to ask most any pastor, authoritarian or not, they would give lip service to the notion of empowering persons for ministry. After all, the … Continue reading Mopping floors as an act of ministry… →