8/22/2022

A dear friend passed away in July. He was just 55 years old. Just writing that pricks my eyes with tears.

I could tell you that my heart sings when I think of Kevin meeting Jesus, and that I am overjoyed when I think of him in heaven.

But that’s not how I feel.

8/19/2022

As a culture we have no shortage of things to celebrate. We love to celebrate in these United States, and nothing has had an ability to damper our appetite for such activity. We celebrate everything: marriage, divorce, the birth of babies, graduations, holidays, made-up holidays, church anniversaries, pastors’ anniversaries, Reformation Sunday, and more. Did you know that September 4 is Eat an Extra Dessert Day? I think you get the point. We love to celebrate.

7/22/2022

There is a shirt I have seen many Black and brown folks wearing that says “I am my ancestors’ wildest dream.” Possibly based off this powerful Teen Vogue article (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/i-am-my-ancestors-wildest-dreams), the saying represents the idea of folks who have been historically marginalized declaring their own existence as the proof and product of the faith of their ancestors, a persistent, resistance-filled faith hoping in “things unseen” despite systemic oppression and hardship.

7/22/2022

This summer, I have spent time at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship and Music Conference in Montreat and supported the General Assembly meeting both in-person and virtually. My kids attended church camp at Living River in Alabama and they attended the Montreat Middle School Conference at Maryville College. As I am reflecting on our summer, it strikes me that we as a church are so blessed by so many people who give graciously of their time and talents.

6/17/2022

For the season following Pentecost, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two different tracks of readings from the Hebrew Scriptures. The first track (the semicontinuous readings) provides an opportunity to sample from a selection of significant themes and memorable stories from 1 Kings and prophets Amos and Hosea. The second track (the complementary readings) connects imagery and themes across Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. This provides the preacher and congregation a chance to explore not only how the New and Old Testaments inform each other, but also to connect the teachings of Jesus to their Jewish roots and scriptural heritage.

6/15/2022

It is rafting season in Colorado. As the mountain snow begins to melt, the streams that provide our arid state with water quickly transform from little babbling brooks into muddy raging rivers. A few days ago I took a new friend down the river near my house. He hadn’t done a lot of white-water rafting, so I went over what we would need to do if the boat became stuck on a rock, or if one of us fell out.

5/19/2022

This familiar scripture teaches and reminds that there is literally “a time for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:1), a time that God alone holds. While technological advancements have accomplished many things through the years, the essence of time still remains as one thing that we cannot change.

5/17/2022

What is stewardship? Rev. Dr. Ted Wardlaw was known to tell new members of his congregation (as a part of a much broader charge that is both beautiful and powerful): “Stewardship always means more than money, but it never means less than money.”

4/18/2022

Early in my time as a Ministry Relations Officer with the Presbyterian Foundation, I had the pleasure of being invited to meet with a stewardship committee at a local church. They were thinking about starting a planned giving program. As this is one of our core competencies, I spent a lot of time preparing what I thought was a compelling and complete outline of what an effective planned giving program should be. I shared with them lots of ideas, examples, and resources. I left the church that day feeling good about the presentation and confident that they would be calling me soon to get started.

4/13/2022

As May comes around, most preaching pastors are probably just glad to have made it through Easter. Maybe this year, the crowds were back and the Easter egg hunt was on, but likely some of the stress and caution of the past two years lingered on. There was a celebration, but it still felt “different” somehow. But now, with the focus of Lent, the intensity of Holy Week, and the pressure of Easter behind us, there is a real temptation to just let down. It would be so easy to let go and simply coast into the summer. Temptations to abandon the lectionary in May abound. First, there is Mother’s Day; then graduations and celebrations of the end of the church school year; finally, there is Memorial Day and the “official” beginning of summer.

3/18/2022

It was raining the first time my wife and I celebrated Easter together. We were visiting friends a few hours away for an Orthodox Easter Vigil—Amanda is Antiochian Orthodox and our friends are Greek.

3/16/2022

I must admit I can forget things quickly, especially on Sunday mornings. My mind is moving a mile a minute and once I get focused on the preaching hour, anything you may have asked me to share with the congregation is lost. So, I have made it a habit of telling people to “remind me, please” during the service because there is a strong chance that I will forget.