Last week was our denomination’s Annual Conference. It is always great to see friends, experience great teaching and worship, and do the business of the church. In preparation for the event, each of us receives a journal with all of the necessary information, including all of the action items for our time of business, details of the budget, and general information about our time together. […]
Nearly every parent has a story of purchasing an expensive gift for their child, only to have them find the box and packaging more fun to play with. It seems easy for children to miss the main point of the gift as they focus on what was meant to be discarded. On one level, this is a great affirmation of child-like creativity, but it also […]
Throughout the Scripture we find places where the people of God built altars. Sometimes, these were directly connected to houses of worship, but often, they were places of remembrance. When individuals and communities experienced unique encounters with God, an altar would be set up to remember that experience and honor God in the future. Occasionally, people would erect standing stones, large stones placed in an […]
The tech and business world is abuzz with thoughts and comments surrounding Steve Jobs resignation as CEO of Apple Inc. What will happen to the company’s products and services? What impact will this decision have on stock prices, and how will the news affect Wall Street overall? What happens now? What happens next? Whenever significant changes occur in such public ways, there are always many […]
Jesus told his disciples they were to, “Go.” The Great Commission, as it has come to be known, was an assignment to take the knowledge and experience of the saving grace of God and go to furthest corners of the world to share it. Such a task requires action to complete. There is no room for passivity and apathy, this is a mission of passion and purpose. […]
As many of us head to Worship Services this morning, I wonder what we expect will happen while we are there. Sure, we know there will be hymns, some Scripture and a message from the pastor. We likely expect to see some friends, pray for our church family, and hear the list of announcements. All this and more may well happen, but that is not […]
Life occasionally presents us with interesting juxtapositions, times when we become aware of our great diversity and the infinite creativity of God. Today is one of those times for me. Yesterday, I met with a friend who offered his consulting services to our church. We spent a couple of hours looking at ways to enhance the audio/visual system in our Sanctuary. We discussed difference between […]
There is just something wrong with finding the Halloween candy and the candy canes next to each other,” was the quote posted by a good friend of our family as she lamented the advance celebration of the holidays. Most of us have probably had similar feelings as we watched the Christmas decorations come out near the beginning of October, and most recently the Black Friday […]
Last night our church held its annual Fall Festival for our children and their families and friends. This year we began with “Trunk or Treat” where families decorated the trunks of their cars and vans and then stood by them to hand out candy as the children made their way around a part of the parking lot sectioned off for the event. The children had a […]
Not long ago I shared an interesting conversation with a man at Starbucks. He apparently overheard a portion of my conversation and realized that I was a pastor. After asking me if that was true and a few things about the church I served, he went on to share a bit of his faith and how much he liked his church. Of course, I was […]