Turn and Face the Change

David Bowie probably hasn’t pondered the United Methodist Church’s iteneration procedures. Oddly, this phrase from his song, “Changes,” pertains in a very relevent way. And it echoes the scriptural story in which Elijah hands off the ministry...

“How Does This Help Us Make Disciples?”

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of excitement from people like Dan Dick and Ben Gosden. Their excitement is rightly generating some excitement within me as well. The cause of the excitement? One simple word: Discipleship. Dan and Ben are both excellent writers....

The Kingdom of Heaven is like…

West Tennessee and Western Kentucky are suffering from one of the worst droughts in recent memory.  Crops are dying. That means farmers are watching a year’s salary literally burn up. People are falling victim to heat stroke. Yards are going from green to brown...

Grace Anyway

I don’t think there was ever a time when I didn’t know that my heroes were flawed. I grew up in the days following Nixon, Watergate, Viet Nam, race riots, and the burgeoning practice of assuming that great men and women were not perfect. Leaders could be...