One day, I’m going to work in a grocery store. When people have a need, they will ask me. If I don’t get something, they’ll tell me a second time. They may call me a pinhead the third time, but at least I’ll know what they need. I won’t be paid a lot, but I’ll be part of that neat gang of friends that check … Continue reading Ministry in the Clinical Setting also known as the Grocery Store
I once did something wrong. Actually, I started out to do something right. Though I was on the right side of justice, I pursued it in a destructive manner. My short-lived position on the right-side quickly gave way to a prolonged stay on the wrong side. My wife called me out. Initially, she understood my indignation and supported me. Before I saw the real error … Continue reading The Trouble with Women
I would tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Or perhaps, Matthew 6:1 applies. Of course, I just violated Mt. 6:1 so there you go. Continue reading My Lenten Disciplines
Yes: It’s about the guns. If it weren’t about the guns, people wouldn’t rush into defending the 2nd amendment mere hours after a massacre of kindergartners If it weren’t about guns, there would not be a small but loud minority pushing for guns in the hands of school teachers. If it weren’t about the guns, people wouldn’t dismiss those who have been through this before. If … Continue reading It’s About the Guns
What’s a Mediocre Preacher to Do? I am taking an online course called “Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society“. It is being shared by the University of Pennsylvania through Coursera: an online education clearinghouse. I am taking this course to help me better design worship. I am not that good of a preacher-I tend to be boring. If the Mountaineers play late, I know that … Continue reading Designing Worship: Sensing the Gaps-Coursera Lessons for the Church
Coach’s Bad Habit I played soccer growing up. It was a big part of who I was, the first thing that I was really good at. I was tall and fast and that made for some success on the field. One year, our team was really pretty good. We were competitive in every game and even knocked off the top team during the regular season. … Continue reading Getting in the Game
Kitty in window Oversees lovers at play Blissfully unfree · September cricket Sings a dusky requiem- Rests as cars roar by — That crooked tree must be balancing out the rest of the earth. For she is bent in a gnarly shape, superficially ugly, with patches of green leaves ready to die. Bending shoots of dead branches testify to the sickness within. She is innocent-no … Continue reading POETRY: Kitties, Crickets and Crooked Branches
I am at the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference (#nej12) serving on the Hospitality Team. Tuesday’s schedule was dedicated to the interviewing of Episcopal candidates. There were 8 interview teams and 19 candidates (candidates profiles can be found here [.pdf] in Tuesday’s Daily Christian Advocate). Each candidate interviewed before each interview team. In the evening, I got to sit in on one of the interview teams as … Continue reading Episcopal Questions
Vital Learning is Critical to Vital Church Leadership…or so they say. At Greenview, we have been undergoing a revitalization process. I followed a pastor that had been here ten years, so the congregation was ripe for something new. We began in January by reading Vital Signs by Dan Dick. It is a superb book that really got us thinking about who we are as a church. … Continue reading Book Review: “Holy Conversations”-Introduction
Last week, I was Ordained an Elder in Full Connection in the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Egalitarianism led me to this moment in my life and is an extension of my theology and faith. Women as equals in ministry is second nature to me. In high school, my home church received a clergy couple as pastors. This was southern West … Continue reading Egalitarianism and the Christian Minister
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