A Plug for SoulFeast

Next month, Kay and the girls and I will load up the car and head six hours south to the Mecca of southeastern Methodism, Lake Junaluska, for our annual pilgrimage to the SoulFeast Conference, sponsored by the Upper Room. We started attending SoulFeast several years ago when we were short on funds and needed to … Continue reading A Plug for SoulFeast →

Live Blogging Adam Hamilton on Evangelism

October 2-3 -- COR Leadership Institute Reaching new folks for JC will require change: 3 Questions for Consideration: Why do people need Jesus Christ? Why do people need the church? Why does anyone need our particular church? Many congregations suffer from low self-esteem. Part of our job is to help congregations see what is remarkable … Continue reading Live Blogging Adam Hamilton on Evangelism →

Live Blogging Adam Hamilton Session 3 — Preaching and more…

Make sure to plan your sermons in advance. Five Types of Sermons: Fishing Expeditions -- addressing the questions or concerns of non-religious individuals. Want to announce those at Candlelight Christmas Eve service which can be a great time to draw visitors. Discipleship Sermons -- take folks deeper in their faith (usually in Lent) Healing Sermons … Continue reading Live Blogging Adam Hamilton Session 3 — Preaching and more… →

Live Blogging Adam Hamilton Session 2 — Worship and Preaching

Imagine entering a restaurant where you walk in and no one speaks initially, they toss you a menu, and take forever to go speak with you. Then, when you finally order the food it takes long to get there and the food isn't very good, lukewarm, and you find a hair in the food. Are … Continue reading Live Blogging Adam Hamilton Session 2 — Worship and Preaching →

Live Blogging Adam Hamilton Session 1 — Leadership

The challenges ahead of us are huge, and we have to be able to lead in new ways, not worrying about things like apportionments. We are in part in a leadership crisis. Seminaries don't do a very good job in training folks to offer leadership in a church in crisis. Telling the story of his … Continue reading Live Blogging Adam Hamilton Session 1 — Leadership →

Skipping Ordination

Ten years ago, at a gathering of the Tennessee Annual Conference not unlike the one I am currently attending, I knelt at an altar and felt Bishop Kenneth Carder lay his hands upon me for my ordination as a probationary deacon (I came in under the 1992 Book of Discipline). It was certainly not the … Continue reading Skipping Ordination →

Prophetic Preaching and the Good News

Last week I started a series of sermons titled: The Embracing Church: Life in the Expansive Kingdom of God. It is a series looking that assumes that the God who embraces all of us likewise wants the Body of Christ to be about embrace as well. Last week, I preached a variation on the post … Continue reading Prophetic Preaching and the Good News →

Living in the Expansive Kingdom of God

The other night, after spending an rare hour at the gym followed by another hour at the supermarket, I was standing in my kitchen putting away the last of the groceries when I heard a quiet “woof” at my feet. I looked down and there were two enormous brown eyes staring up at me longingly … Continue reading Living in the Expansive Kingdom of God →

Willow Creek’s ‘Huge Shift’

After modeling a seeker-sensitive approach to church growth for three decades, Willow Creek Community Church now plans to gear its weekend services toward mature believers seeking to grow in their faith.The change comes on the heels of an ongoing four-year research effort first made public late last summer in Reveal: Where Are You?, a book … Continue reading Willow Creek’s ‘Huge Shift’ →

Getting Organized

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 … Continue reading Getting Organized →

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 →

Changing Cultures — Part 2

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 … Continue reading Changing Cultures — Part 2 →

Changing Cultures — Part 1

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 … Continue reading Changing Cultures — Part 1 →

Yesterday…

...we made 12,000 biscuits!

Talking about The Sacred Way

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 … Continue reading Talking about The Sacred Way →

Can we talk? Can we listen? The Possibility of Reconciliation

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 … Continue reading Can we talk? Can we listen? The Possibility of Reconciliation →

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 →

What does it mean to be Methomergent?

I was surprised to see a shout-out in the latest edition of the Emergent-C newsletter, which focused on denominational expressions of the emerging conversation. I've been a part of this emergent conversation thingie (the thing we find ourselves in) since 2002 or so, and I count myself as one who has been influenced by the … Continue reading What does it mean to be Methomergent? →

A Statement on Change — A Deconstruction

I have spent a bit of time recently talking with many folks about the staff restructuring at the Tennessee Conference Council on Connectional Ministries office, focused in the discontinuation of the positions focused in ministry with youth and children. As has been suggested here earlier, the process for this change seems flawed in many ways, … Continue reading A Statement on Change — A Deconstruction →

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 →