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.
A few people responded to my “Oh We, Of Little Faith” post — addressing the the doom-and-gloom predictions of the end of the UMC in the next forty years or so — by asking what kind of future I do envision for the good old UMC? Looking at trends and […]
You might think that people who do something repeatedly over a period of years would come to know its practice and meaning intimately. In the case of the celebration of Holy Communion, you would be wrong. Each month (the preferred schedule for the institution of the Lord’s Supper in United […]
I keep getting requests for copies of this article and permission to reprint it so I thought I would just re-post it here. I originally posted it last November. What do you know about God? What have you learned about Jesus Christ in the past few weeks? How readily can […]
My long time spiritual guide and mentor, Carl Andry, Jr., used to tell us that the purpose of the church could be discerned through the three-fold approach to a single question: Why are we here? For Dr. Andry, a congregation could only justify its existence by: Asking the question Answering […]
Two recent conversations raise questions in my mind about the integrity and strength of our beliefs. A pair of incredibly intelligent, deeply spiritual Christians shared with me heart-breaking realizations that there is no longer any place for them in the church — all because they are reasonable, rational people trying […]
It’s hard to justify the need for yet another Bible — there are a whole bunch out there from the ridiculous to the sublime — but the new Wesley Study Bible distinguishes itself as a worthwhile addition (edition?). Not that the Bible needs improvement, but anything that illuminates and explains […]
Times are tough. The economy is in the tank. People are losing jobs, and those who have them are growing ever more cautious with their money. It’s got to be hurting the church, right? Well, yes… and no. It all depends on where the congregational treasure is — there will […]
blasphemy (noun) — irreverent or disrespectful words or actions concerning God or sacred things. mediocrity (noun) — a state of poor or barely adequate quality; neither good nor bad. blasphemediocrity (noun) — the disrespect of God and the sacred by accepting barely adequate and/or poor quality standards of spiritual belief […]
When I was a kid, I used to love paint-by-number sets. Paint-by-number was the perfect solution for someone like me with absolutely no artistic ability whatsoever. There was a picture presented in ink outline and in each section of the outline was a number that corresponded to a color paint. […]
Next week I want to publish an article on bad behavior in congregations, but I thought it would be interesting to get your views in advance. Take a moment to answer this question:
United Methodeviations 