Every once in a while, I blog about something I consider a “no-brainer,” something so obvious (at least to me…) that I cannot fathom anyone disagreeing. But I am always wrong — there’s no such thing as a sure thing. Case in point: caring for the poor. The idea that […]
Kudos to Circuit Rider for the Nov./Dec./Jan. issue focusing on ministry with the poor. So many other voices share my conviction that ministry “with” is our future, rather than ministry “to” or “for” the poor (so I must be right). Of the Four Areas of Focus of The United Methodist […]
Funny thing. Writing about stewardship all this week resulted in a 30% drop-off in my readership. I’ve gotten a handful of emails this week expressing sentiments like “I expect better from you,” and “you’re as bad as my local church,” and “why are you marching out this tired old song,” […]
What responsibility does the individual have for her or his own spiritual growth and development? At least 70% of people leaving The United Methodist Church give “spiritual needs not met” as one of the reasons for their departure. (Based on 429 “exit” interviews, 2002-2003) But what do they mean when […]
In recent months I have visited a number of churches where leaders have apologetically said to me, “Our numbers are down. We always lose them through the summer.” Worship attendance is currently the primary metric for a church’s effectiveness — which is ironic because worship attendance has nothing to do […]
Word reached me of the death of a member of one of my former churches. The homily preached at his memorial was entitled, “A Good Man,” and it extolled a life of generosity, virtue, community involvement, and leadership. The news made me both sad and angry. While everything shared in […]
The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? by Richard Stearns is a beautiful book. First of all, what I love about this book is that it was recommended to me by my brother-in-law, Jim, who is not an active church-goer, who has some serious misgivings about organized religion, […]
My wife, Barbara, is a mystery to me. She loves me in spite of all my shortcomings, demands, infirmities, and idiosyncrasies. She is so smart, dynamic, funny and balanced. I really don’t deserve her… and she certainly doesn’t deserve all the garbage she gets from me! And yet she loves […]
Stewardship is both a worldview and a practice. Stewardship is a way of relating to God’s creation, not simply something we do in and for the church. Stewardship is about how we choose to live our Christian faith in the world. The concept of Christian stewardship was so corrupted and […]
I wonder how many United Methodists are simply tired and bored with the same old, same old? There is a growing dual attitude about our churches that is important to note: some feel that we are irrelevant while others feel that we are little more than boring. Not everyone. I […]
United Methodeviations 