Category: Life
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Nuts, cheese, crazy pills, and finding “squirrels” in the Temple.
During times like these – CRAZY times like these! – we need laughter, and good people to laugh with.
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“I will lift my eyes” – a Facebook Live sermon, based on Psalm 121, preached for The First United Methodist Church of Orlando, on March 29, 2020
Last Sunday morning, before worship, a First Church friend sent me a beautiful YouTube video of the University of British Columbia Choir, singing a choral arrangement of Psalm 121, called “I will lift my eyes,” that literally moved me to tears.
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“How are you doing?”: the many moods of an introverted pastor in an age of coronavirus
Like you, I suspect, many friends and colleagues have recently asked me, “How are you doing,” as we endure this strange season of coronavirus. Of course, I’m asking the same of them. It’s an understandable question. These are strange, unprecedented times, for all of us.
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Get up, and walk!
I’ll confess, I feel helpless, sometimes. I’ve felt especially helpless in these recent weeks. Beyond social distancing and washing my hands thoroughly, I feel helpless in the face of the spread of coronavirus. As a pastor, I feel VERY helpless: wishing I could do more, worrying that I’m not doing…
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I may not like you…
As a person of faith, I may not like everyone (I don’t), but I can and must treat all people with dignity and respect. I may not respect a person’s politics, their taste in music, the jokes they tell, their recreational choices, their affiliations and allegiances, their philosophical leanings, or…
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How a house becomes a home…
If you’ve ever visited one of our previous houses, or someday visit our new one (we do plan to live here a LONG time!), you may not know or understand the particular story our stuff is telling – it is a unique and eclectic assortment! But, it will be hard…
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What’s My Purpose?
What’s your purpose? What are your particular “roles,” and how does your sense of purpose align with your list of commitments, obligations, and duties? What is your identity? Who are you, when all of the external trappings are stripped away? What does it look like for you to “be,” and…
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“I am” or “I am not”
When I’m specifically asked about my association with Jesus – by friend or foe – I want my response to be consistently faith-affirming, truth-filled, love-laced, unwavering, and invitational!
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Anticipated Restoration
I find remarkable comfort and encouragement in these stories from Holy Week. If Jesus couldn’t find twelve better disciples than these, then maybe there’s hope for me and my ministry. If Jesus, knowing the disciples would fall short when he needed them, still planned to forgive and restore them afterward,…
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