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.
Many are the critics of blind, irrational, unquestioning faith — until the world comes crashing in. Then, in the midst of the hurt and fear and despair, there is often left but one option: believe. Such is the lesson of Good Friday. When all else fails — when the answers offered […]
There is a wealth of irony within the gospel stories, but nowhere is the irony greater than in the synoptic stories we call “the Last Supper.” Jesus, facing imminent destruction, sitting with the ragtag bunch of bozos that still don’t quite get what is coming, loving them as dear friends […]
While driving through Illinois, a roadside sign made me get off the highway and circle around again just to be sure I saw what I thought I saw: “Yummy Jesus Goodness!” printed in huge red letters. A very sweet, jolly clone of Mrs. Santa Claus sat behind a trestle table selling homemade […]
“It’s a damn impossibility. If Jesus came back, then Jesus never died in the first place!” “You are an idiot! Just because you have never seen it happen, it can’t be true!” “People don’t come back from the dead. Near-death experiences are just that, NEAR death.” “Jesus wasn’t “people.” Jesus […]
You think you know resurrection? Bet you can learn something from Kevin J. Madigan and Jon D. Levenson (two Harvard professors, one a Christian and one a Jew) that you didn’t already know. In their book, Resurrection: The Power of God for Christians and Jews, Madigan and Levenson trace the history […]
It is striking to me that the very healthiest congregations I visit all have a unique, compelling, and descriptive metaphor at the heart of their sense of identity and purpose. One describes itself as an orchard where seeds of faith are planted and nurtured to produce fruit that feeds and […]
April Fool’s Day inspired me to dig out a list of goofs, gaffs, and giggles from church signs, bulletins, newsletters, banners, cookbooks, and emails. This is just for fun… or not. From a church cookbook recipe for “Southwestern Stew” — 1 small child, dried, ground to a fine powder. From […]
War is a horrible thing, especially an unnecessary and meaningless war. One such terrible and tragic conflict exists between science and religion. The popular media loves the whole idea — physics vs. metaphysics, secular vs. spiritual, rational vs. emotional, fact vs. fiction — and always portrays the issue in stark […]
The results are in on my study on destructive forces in the church. Beginning in 2005 and continuing to the present, I have been analyzing the negative, destructive, damaging, unhelpful, hostile, and hurtful practices at work in our communities of “open hearts, open minds, and open doors.” A whopping 86% […]
I have long made the differentiation between “good” and “important” books. In my experience, all good books are important, but there are many important books that are anything but good. The Shack is an important book, (but in few ways good) as are The Prayer of Jabez, The Secret, The […]
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