Today my post reflects on the Advent thought that the babe that did lay in the manger in Bethlehem so long ago was indeed the Messiah for all people and in fact “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” My thoughts however could not be better articulated except in the words of my friend Thomas [...]
The year 2010 is nearly here and although you may be enjoying Advent/Christmas all the parties and festivities if you are a pastor your mind is somewhat down the road and into the new year. No doubt you are considering in prayer or in action the themes, missional purposes, and sermon ideas of the new [...]
This is a copy of something Bill Easum wrote on 8/24/09. Normally I would write my own stuff, but I found this engaging and thought provoking and thought maybe you’d have some thoughts. A rare post for me, but I just thought Easum’s thoughts were super relevant. BTW - On # 4, Adam Hamilton of [...]
Just the other day I was talking with a new pastor friend in Indiana who is trying to help convey and live out a more purposeful and intentional reality to his church leaders of what it means to be the Church beyond the walls of the church. The truth is the location where this congregation [...]
Today’s mile marker post (#70) is a smorgasbord of quotes from one of my favorite books released by Beacon HIll Press this year. This post is unashamedly aimed at peaking your interest in buying the book (capitalism at work on a Monday morning), but it is also aimed to provide food for your thinking in [...]
While listening to NPR yesterday on the highway I was intrigued by a story that told about a man who
captured stories and photos from a small town in Iowa. This man went to Oxford, IA, and took photos of 870 people out of 876 in the whole town. He also did this book display using [...]
Sometimes as a pastor it’s just a good thing to stop and reconsider what it is you value most in your ministry. In preparation to preach in Topeka this Sunday I’ve been thinking about what I really value in worship and especially in the preaching moment of worship. In the preaching moment here are some [...]
There are a myriad of life issues that pastors and chaplains face during the course of weekly ministry that require much prayer and Godly wisdom. When walking with people as Jesus did a pastor will encounter many issues that perhaps he/she may not be completely knowledgeable about or have confidence speaking on with any measure [...]
It’s Tuesday and nearly the middle of a hot month. You’re a pastor and you’ve run out of emotional energy, spiritual gumption, personal finances perhaps, and things just seem a bit bleak. You are generally an upbeat sort of person - hopeful, positive, resting, trusting - that God is God and He will make [...]
As Sunday morning church bulletins go they are a thousand different varieties, styles and purposes. Our church bulletin is very simple with a basic worship format on the left and pertinent announcements on the right made on someone’s PC. Other bulletins are huge, like 11×17 and folded twice over for readability and are done very [...]