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 seventeed 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 spent the day at the Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century (SBC 21) summit in North Charleston, South Carolina. The positive spirit and energy of this gathering is infectious, and the hopeful vision is noble. But this is a gathering of leaders from throughout our connectional system, […]
Thanks to bud Cathy Weigand for this video. She sent it to me with the lyrics which I print below. For me it is a brilliant metaphor for what a diverse, connectional system really looks like — discordant, messy, loud, kinetic, dynamic, frenetic, and always connected — each piece integral […]
United Methodist congregations seem to regularly get “stuck” in one (or more) of three places. Annual Conferences, too, share this affliction. Instead of channeling energy positively, it dissipates in non-productive — and sometimes damaging ways. Conversations tend to focus on problems to solve rather than possibilties. People get bogged down […]
For a reader, a coffee shop is a frustrating tease. Whenever I think about taking a good book to the coffee shop, I envision sitting cozy in one of the comfy chairs with a good cup of coffee, losing myself in whatever I am reading — perhaps with some good […]
The United Methodist Church is issuing a challenge: “Change the World.” Billed as a “worldwide event,” this April 24-25 threshold event will show where the values, heart and soul of the UMC really is. I am not talking about participation in this two-day event. I am talking about whether it […]
Serendipitous synchronicity. When I keep hearing the same phrase or idea from a diverse variety of sources, I perk up. First, I was listening to some chucklehead talking about how the earthquake in Haiti was “God’s way of testing the people’s faith.” Somehow, dropping tons of cement and stone and […]
Thus begins another Lenten journey — the grey days of late winter set a tone and a hue for the next 40 days. Each year this time I reflect on the themes and values that define for me the path from Ash Wednesday through Maundy Thursday to Good Friday and […]
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What a brilliant turn of phrase. Not where the heart is, the treasure will be, but what we count and pursue and value indicates what matters most to us. Genius. So, based on this premise from scripture, what does The […]
I love to step on toes. I love to stir people up. I am especially fond of irritating people around the issue of reaching spiritual seekers who have rejected the church. We in the church are very quick to defend everything we do, and to deflect any criticism as “well, […]
Recent conversations with pastoral leaders in my home Conference (Wisconsin) about young adult ministry share a common theme: there simply isn’t enough interest in the area. Apparently, young adults don’t want what the churches have to offer. Except, this morning when I stopped off for my morning Buzz at Beans […]
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