5/15/2023

God created the world to be one of balance as well as abundance, brimming with life and possibility while also existing within a particular divine framework.

4/14/2023

As disciples, we have inherited a legacy of faith in Jesus Christ that has been passed down for generations. Determining your role in this continuing legacy is perhaps one of the most important things you will ever do.

4/13/2023

Suffering is not evidence of God’s judgment against us – quite the opposite! It is a sign of divine solidarity.

3/17/2023

Our gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is followed by our awe at God’s astonishing gift of new life in the resurrection.

3/16/2023

We must be willing to ask: what season are we in? what works need to be done right now? Is it time to plant, to harvest, to compost, or to rest? What must I release so that it can become what it is meant to be?

2/17/2023

March kicks off with mystery and uncertainty — just look at the lectionary excerpts above.

And mystery and uncertainty are things that I don’t particularly care for when it comes to Stewardship.

2/15/2023

One of the things I love the most is the change in seasons. Winter, spring, summer, and fall are all unique in their own way. Each season brings about new hopes, dreams, and adventures, especially if you enjoy the outdoors which I do.

1/23/2023

In the 2018 Super Bowl, Tide laundry detergent had what was arguably the most brilliant advertising campaign of any company that year. Actor David Harbour shows up in what appear to be various archetypical commercials imitating a car ad, a beer ad, a perfume ad, an insurance company ad, a soft drink ad, a jewelry ad, and more. After the first few fake ads he stars in, he points out that in every ad on TV, no one ever has any stains on their clothes. At the end of the commercial, he poses the question, “Does this make every Super Bowl ad a Tide ad?” After watching this ad campaign, I jokingly asked myself if the story of Jesus’ transfiguration is a Tide ad, when we read that “his clothes became dazzling white.”

1/18/2023

As Lent swiftly approaches, what practices might you encourage folks to consider over the 40-day journey?

12/12/2022

Were it not for the title, it would be hard to tell that T.S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi” had anything at all to do with the Epiphany story. There’s no mention of the gifts, the mother, or the child. And, as one of the Magi recalls the scene upon their arrival in Bethlehem, he spares only a single line to describe the scene—“it was (you might say) satisfactory.”

12/9/2022

Maybe it is too easy to memorize Micah 6:8b. It is not hard to memorize or turn into a cross-stitch piece, or to put on poster. It is the low hanging fruit of memory verses. Many will remember seeing Micah 6:6b on the wall in a grandmother’s kitchen. Some will still find it underlined or highlighted it in their study bible. Micah 6:6 in poster form in Sunday school classroom after classroom forever and ever and ever. “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

11/9/2022

Many of you are reading this having made your way through another stewardship season and dedication Sunday. Some of you are energized by a hopeful and positive congregational response. Others of us are feeling anxious and defeated because, by all indications, difficult ministry decisions are going to have to be made in the months ahead. All of us find ourselves at the beginning of another Advent with its mix of joy and seemingly endless demands.