Asking For Forgiveness (Photo credit: hang_in_there)
Let’s cover some known facts. I’m a United Methodist pastor. The United Methodist Church is a Christian denomination. Christians follow the teachings of Christ. Christ was big on forgiveness.
Based on this, we should be able to draw some conclusions about a system of United Methodist pastors and United Methodist churches — and the way they interact. Continue reading
Fever (Photo credit: Joe Seggiola)
Once, as a child, I played sick to avoid a particular confrontation that I knew was going to take place at school. My plan was foolproof: Moan a little bit, wait for the thermometer to show up, and then fake a fever using my desklamp to inflate the reading.
I may or may not have recently watched “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” In either case, I would have been more successful in my devious effort if I had followed his advice and simply licked my palms instead of faking the fever.
My mother took the thermometer, held it up to read the temperature, — and laughed as she walked away.
“Looks like you are going to school, pal,” she called over her shoulder. “You either have a fever of 115°, or something screwy is going on around here. I’m leaving shortly. Be in the car when it leaves the driveway.”
You cannot fake the fever — not like that.
We Methodists have a thermometer. It’s called “Vital Congregations,” and it is an indicator of church vitality. But proponents and opponents alike have made the mistake of thinking that it is the solution to our problems. Continue reading
2013 Glasses (Photo credit: paul.hadsall)
Christmas has been great. Laurinda and I enjoyed all the facets of the holiday with one exception. We didn’t find any mistletoe. Granted, we don’t exactly need it. But it’s traditional to “kiss under the mistletoe.”
It’s also traditional to make a resolution on New Year’s Eve, typically while wearing a party hat or those really cool new year’s eve glasses.
But this year, I’m asking the folks at Grace not to rush into any resolutions. Instead, I’m asking them to carefully consider their next right step.
From an email I sent to the church, here’s how I described the Next Right Step (after the jump): Continue reading
The tithe as one tenth. (Photo credit: More Good Foundation)
I just left a Finance Committee Meeting for Grace UMC, the church I’m presently serving. And I just witnessed a very admirable act. “Heroic” is a little too strong a word, but not by too much.
Let me offer some background. Grace has had some financial strain over the past two years. Attendance was dropping sharply due to conflicts within the church and giving was way down. The congregation eventually divided its property earlier this year and sold the educational building to a small Catholic school.
Our connectional support was unpaid last year. That means that our Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church made do without us in 2011. This year, with reduced apportionments, we were unsure if we’d be able to pay any. The first six months of 2012 were looking grim. Attendance was dismal and finances were in an emergency state for most of those days.
In June, I arrived. I’d love to tell you that the difference was immediate and massive. Continue reading
One of thousands of depictions of Christ — all of which are artists’ interpretations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A couple of days ago, I was at the church when one of our volunteers came by. She was there to pick up a load of toys for the Angel Tree charity we’re supporting this year. With her were six teen-agers, all boys, who were ready to help.
As we carried bags out to the trailer, the young man in front of turned around and walked backwards, dragging his bag behind him and in front of me. He looked me square in the eye and asked, “Would you know God if he appeared right in front of you?”
My answer was honest. “Probably only if God revealed Godself to me.”
“What do you mean?”
And then I told him a story about the cobbler who expected Jesus. Continue reading
