I am the lead pastor at People's United Methodist Church in the Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church, husband of my beautiful wife, Barbara, dad to my fantastic son, Josh and his wife Caroline, step-dad to my phenomenal son, Greg, his wife Hannah and our fabulous/glorious/perfect granddaughter Evie, author of seventeen books on spirituality, stewardship, congregational development, research, and spiritual gifts discovery, and an advocate for a more loving, inclusive church for the 21st century and beyond.
I am fast coming to despise email. Not just the quantity, nor the spam — but the high level of miscommunication it engenders. Three examples: you’re not the kind of example I would expect from The United Methodist Church. I have never heard such nonsense about the church before. The […]
Okay. Blog vacation over. I’m back. I have been unbelievably busy for the past two weeks, but am now going to get back to my two-to-three blog a week schedule. I’m sure you are all relieved… I have tried in the past couple weeks to keep my thoughts to myself […]
I’ve gotten in trouble lately for an idea that I thought was fairly safe, but turns out (as many ideas do) is theologically open to debate. I suggested that human beings, created in the image of God, might be children of God. I do have to acknowledge that this is […]
Here’s something I don’t understand. Why do so many people in the church who teach evangelism despise non-Christians? No, really. It would seem to me that as Christians we would absolutely LOVE everyone who isn’t a Christian, but this isn’t the case. Over and over I meet United Methodist evangelists […]
If ever there were a more confusing claim, I don’t know what it is. Biblical preaching. In the past few months, I have encountered people who either complain that their pastor doesn’t “preach the Bible,” or proudly boast that they have a “Biblical preacher.” (One over 2000 years old…?) But […]
A young man came up to me the other day and led off with the line, “You probably don’t remember me, but…” Having worked for the national church for almost 15 years, I have met an awful lot of people, and I must confess that I don’t remember too many […]
Who should have a place at the banquet table laid out for us by God? This is a question that keeps coming up in my life at the moment as I listen to conversations about immigration, homosexuality, capital punishment, and abortion. In each case, one significant issue emerges: who is […]
I don’t consider myself an old fogy or a prude, but I’m getting fed up with what’s happening to our superheroes. Last year I eagerly anticipated the Watchmen movie, yet I left it disgusted at the glorification of brutality and the gratuitous violence that all but obscured the story. Now, we […]
Age. What a concept. Yesterday (April 29) was my 52nd birthday, and I am contemplating what it means to be “middle-aged.” Yes, I realize I have BEEN middle-aged for some time now, but for me 52 is about the mid-point of middle age. Middle age seems to hit around forty, […]
I am constantly amazed at how many churches are looking for their future in their past. It’s a bit like looking in the cupboard to see if we can find the best meal we ever ate. For a people who believe that their Savior makes all things new, we certainly […]
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