22 and ½ Things I have Learned in 22 and ½ Years (in one place)

I am a bit over half-way through year twenty-three as the Sr. Pastor of Christ Church.   On paper, the story of Christ Church’s growth from 200 to over 2,400 seems like a modern miracle but my mind today is on the people who represent those numbers.  Especially those who have been on this journey

Does Your Church Want a Future? (then “get” this!)

History will look upon the years that spanned our lifetimes and declare them to be a period of seismic cultural shift.  In the same way the Gutenberg Press changed the world in 1439, the advent of the personal computer and the internet has changed the world again.  We live in a time when the Norman

Know What You are Going to Do! (2020 Edition) #UMCrapstorm

  I have played competitive softball since I was fourteen years old at every imaginable level.  Up to a handful of years ago, I played over a hundred games each season and now in my late fifties, I still play twenty or thirty.  For much of that time I was a shortstop.  The shortstop is

“We Want Out!” (the loudest voice the #UMC isn’t hearing)

  There is an increasingly resonant voice in the United Methodist conflict emerging from both congregations and pastors.   It is a voice not being heard.   It does not receive invitations to the negotiating table.   It is a voice becoming too loud to ignore.   “We want out!”   As the United Methodist

Shaking Hands (While We Still Can) #UMC

Sometimes you just need to shake hands and go your separate ways while you can still shake hands…

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part I)

BAPTIZED BY FIRE: THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part I) Acts 2: 1-6   You may wonder why I would write on a topic as historically controversial as the Holy Spirit.  For me, it is an issue of disconnect and firepower.  The disconnect is that standard practice in most churches does not even remotely

A Pastoral Statement

Pastoral Statement: I have been loving God, loving people and watching God work mightily at Christ Church for twenty-two years. That some may want those years of work suddenly defined by a “tweet” on the recent St. Louis General Conference is absurd. If you would like to know where I stand, I invite you to

UMC Christmas Truce

I would like to make a motion that the United Methodist denomination cease all internal hostilities until after Christmas for the purpose of focusing on Jesus. Can I get a second? We will call it the UMC Christmas Truce of 2018.

Musings on the UMC and the Wesleyan Covenant Association

For years, I stood in the middle ground of the United Methodist Church.  Right-middle to be sure but middle none-the-less.  My plan was to batten down the proverbial hatches, keep Christ Church growing (we have grown for twenty-one consecutive years) and hope the denominational storm would pass.  When asked about my lack of denominational positioning,

Staying Effective as an Aging Leader

What if you don’t HAVE to get less effective as you get older? What if you just have to CHANGE?  I don’t know about you but I am not getting any younger.  After playing softball for decades, I now find it painful to bend over to pick up a bat, much less scoop up a