I had a great day today. One of my church members came by the office to share how God was working in his life. He shared deeply and it was clear that God is taking him to a new place. After he finished sharing and telling about what God is doing for him, he said … Continue reading Pray for Me… →

Let me say at the outset that as a United Methodist minister I am not making any suggestions to the members of my congregation regarding who to vote for. Far be it from me to put our non-profit tax status at risk. Having said that, I've been thinking a bit about the caucuses tonight. By … Continue reading Iowa, Oh Iowa →

The Bush Conspiracy Generator

It's 4:45 a.m. and I just finished my sermon on the nature of faith. Just in case you are worried that I haven't had ANY sleep, I should note that I went to be around 11 and woke up at 3:30 to finish. Does the sermon make sense? Who knows? I think I offer some … Continue reading It’s Finished →

It's 4:45 a.m. and I just finished my sermon on the nature of faith. Just in case you are worried that I haven't had ANY sleep, I should note that I went to be around 11 and woke up at 3:30 to finish. Does the sermon make sense? Who knows? I think I offer some … Continue reading It’s Finished →

I spent most of the day leading our Church Council in planning for the year. We adopted a new leadership structure on January 1, and I'm having to spend many hours helping us think about and learn how to live life together in a new way. The church I serve is a traditional United Methodist … Continue reading Exhaustion →

I've never been one for making New Year's resolutions. Oh, I've made them in the past, but I can't ever think of a time where they've stuck. Every year, I think about all the ways I need to improve - from losing weight to being more organized - and believe that I'm going to get … Continue reading Article for my church newsletter →

The father didn't know what to do. He looked again at his boy who stood with his head against the wall, slowly tapping it in time with some unknown song that played in his head. The boy had not spoken for weeks, consumed by some demon, some force which transformed the lilt and giggle of … Continue reading Thinking about Faith (reflections on Mark 9) →

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites), envisioning "new journeys to the worlds beyond our own," unveiled a plan Wednesday to send astronauts to the moon, Mars and beyond on missions sure to cost hundreds of billions of dollars and stretch the bounds of technology. He called for a manned lunar landing as early … Continue reading Heading to the Moon? →

Stacey Littlefield, one of the illustrious "boys," and the pastor of the Bethany Covenant Church in Cleveland has just started his own blog site. Welcome to the fold Stacey.

Stacey Littlefield, one of the illustrious "boys," and the pastor of the Bethany Covenant Church in Cleveland has just started his own blog site. Welcome to the fold Stacey.

Okay, the blog is working fine in IE-6, but I'm not sure about netscape. I've validated the code and all seems okay. If this is displaying funny, please let me know.

I'm still playing with the blog template. I'm thinking about starting over from scratch since I have too many things happening right now which is causing some incompatibility errors. Bear with me...

I'm still playing with the blog template. I'm thinking about starting over from scratch since I have too many things happening right now which is causing some incompatibility errors. Bear with me...

This morning I sat with a group of guys who were comparing their exercise and diet routines. One had just been diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic, and another in the group also struggles with the disease. I sat quietly in the corner, trying to hide my 100 lb thorn in the flesh, knowing that … Continue reading It’s an omen →

This morning I sat with a group of guys who were comparing their exercise and diet routines. One had just been diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic, and another in the group also struggles with the disease. I sat quietly in the corner, trying to hide my 100 lb thorn in the flesh, knowing that … Continue reading It’s an omen →

My father is giving me a hard time about the format change. He prefers the old format without the graphic label. Well, Jerry, you can set up your own blog at blogger and play with it to your heart's content...

Here is the 360 view from Mars. It requires Quicktime, but is pretty cool.

I came across a good article on the MethodX site today. The author, Sarah Parsons, writes: When I lament my ordinary, boring life, I am chastised by Rilke's words in Letters to a Young Poet: "If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of … Continue reading Epiphany →

Yes, I've changed the title of the blog. "Jay's Journal" seemed too blah. "Only wonder understands" comes from a quote by Gregory of Nyssa that I keep posted above my desk at work. The full quote goes "Concepts create idols, only wonder understands." What Greg was getting at (I hope at least) is that our … Continue reading New Title, New Banner →