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 got mine today — here are some excerpts from an email I received: Why do you have to be so negative about everything? If you hate the Methodist church so much, why don’t you just leave it? Every article you write accuses the church of failing, of screwing up, […]
Over the past few weeks I have reread the first two books in Wendell Berry’s Port William series — Nathan Coulter and A Place on Earth. If you have never had the pleasure of a visit, both these books introduce the reader to one of the most wonderful places on […]
With the exception of a couple brief positive blips, membership and worship attendance have been in steady decline in The United Methodist Church since the Methodist/Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) merger in 1968. This isn’t news. It has been virtually impossible to read anything written about our denomination over the past 40 […]
It is official now so I can share it with all of you: July 1 I will become the Director of Connectional Ministries (DCM) for the Wisconsin Annual Conference! This is an exciting move in my ministry, and one that I believe is a good match for my gifts and […]
On one of my many forays to the Nashville Public Library, I witnessed a serious young man hunched at a computer screen surrounded on all sides by textbooks, journals, and reams of Xeroxed articles. What drew my attention was the slightly crazed, mad scientist look – wild, uncombed hair flying […]
I admit it. I am a worship snob. They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but a lot of knowledge is worse. And the same goes for experience as well. Knowing what one wants in worship, and having experienced excellent worship in the past, makes it difficult […]
As Christian leaders, we NEED Easter. We need it because it reminds us of who we absolutely must be as clergy and laity guides in the Christian faith. It reminds us that we are entrusted with three (at least…) impossible tasks, made possible by the Lord and Savior we follow. […]
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 […]
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