Jesus Christ says, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all”   The child represents the new birth, the fresh start, necessary to real leadership and real life. For us to welcome this in someone honors Christ, honors God who makes it all possible; Vision, trust, […]... Read More

What is the mission of this church? The mission of the church is not to keep a nice, ordered, clean and comfortable church.  The mission of this church is to Make Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.  And this will and should be a messy process. It was for Jesus and […]... Read More

According to Wesley, prevenient grace is present in creation, which is a gift, in our families that we did not choose but which we inherit, in the church’s word and sacraments, which are gifts, and in a conscience, which drives us to do, what is right. We are surrounded by gifts we could never merit […]... Read More

Sunday I preached about Jesus’ calling the disciples and the intriguing possibility that he may have already been friends with the first four he called from the Sea of Galilee (James, John, Simon, Andrew). It changes the dynamic a little to think that he was calling his friends to follow him into ministry versus total […]... Read More

The PURPOSE of United Methodist Women The Purpose is adopted by the General Conference of The United Methodist Church as the official mission statement of United Methodist Women. United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop […]... Read More

Mark 12:13-17 New International Version (NIV) 13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of […]... Read More

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” I recently learned a lesson on hospitality, one that doesn’t usually affect me very often especially since becoming a pastor. People, especially church people, are quick to include me at the table. This wasn’t always the case. School was particularly difficult at times but since […]... Read More

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins today on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which means “spring”. The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then […]... Read More

Sunday, I spoke about the need to name our own demons, both personally and as a church. We have a tendency to become so comfortable with the way things are that we don’t recognize that there is a problem with the church. We just show up and things keep going the same old way. I […]... Read More

Isaiah 11:6 King James Version (KJV) 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. I watched children across our entire nation walk out of their schools for […]... Read More