Finding Vocational Joy

6/1/2023

While Jesus and his disciples were traveling, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his message. By contrast, Martha was...

Renew, Regrow, Re-invent: Working for our Legacy

5/3/2023

It is just a few days after Easter as I write this so I am spending a lot of time thinking about resurrection and what that means for me and for the churches I work with. I find myself thinking...

Love isn’t easy – or optional

4/3/2023

Again and again, Jesus urges us to love: to love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength … to love one another, as he has loved us … to love our neighbors as...

Contemplating epiphany in the busy season of Lent

3/1/2023

Is there still an Epiphany? After the budget has been settled and the inevitable trade-offs in ministry and staffing are made? After the officers have been trained and the new calendar year launched? After the first unexpected, unbudgeted building repair...

Can This Old Dog Learn New Tricks?

2/1/2023

Almost two months ago, we got a puppy. At now 5 months, she’s the most adorable thing—a Bernedoodle (mom is a Bernese Mountain Dog and dad is a Poodle). She’s soft and incredibly calm and so lovable, in fact, the...

Let’s be ourselves

1/4/2023

New Year. New ways of living. New opportunities to grow. New eyes to see what is happening among us and around us. These are some of the things we usually say as part of our new year resolutions without forgetting...

Reaping a harvest of joy from our tears

11/29/2022

Psalm 126 When the Lord changed Zion’s circumstances for the better, it was like we had been dreaming. 2 Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter; our tongues were filled with joyful shouts. It was even said, at that time,...

Time Change

10/27/2022

Soon we will “fall back” an hour. The first weekend in November, we return to standard time having been in daylight savings time since March. Like many, I grumble and complain about the change. There really isn’t an hour more...

How Jesus sees us, and others

9/30/2022

I typically dislike when my job is mentioned as a part of my introduction to others. I cannot count how many times have I been introduced to someone with the words, “This is Andy, the pastor at our church.” It...

Living among those you serve

9/27/2022

"Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” "Or what woman having ten silver coins,...