Did love prevail in Portland?
When I returned home from serving as a commissioner to the 222nd General Assembly, I went straight to church. My red-eye flight..
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Sorry seems to be the hardest word
The work of the Social Justice Issues committee that I have been a part of for the General Assembly was brought..
Reflections on a history-making, surprising, Spirit-filled moment
At the end of a very long day during the evening General Assembly plenary session on Wednesday, I had exhausted all of..
The church of now
The General Assembly committee I have been a part of for my first days at GA (Social Justice Issues) concluded its work..
We are one in the spirit of late night amendments
As I write this, in the early morning hours of the second day of committee work at the General Assembly, I am..
Connecting, belonging, calling: Reflections on my first day of the 222nd General Assembly
Saturday was one of those good days—you know the kind that you don’t really want to end. It was the convening of..
May love prevail in Portland
I’ve been a part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for nearly 25 years – over half of my life. My relationship with..
Tattoos that bear witness
I got my first tattoo when I was serving as the youth director at a small Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida. The..
Grace, jazz & Sonny’s blues
Several years ago, I was serving a small church outside of Orlando, Florida, as an associate pastor and was given primary worship..
Four things I wish I’d known when starting ministry
This month we asked our bloggers what they wish they’d known as they graduated seminary and began their ministry. Here are their..
One Love/Confession of Sin
This week we asked our bloggers to share a liturgy they’ve crafted. One: Have mercy upon us O God, according to your..
Growing a church through prayer, Bible reading and devotions
This week we asked our bloggers what they had learned from spiritual practices and disciples. This is how they responded. Four years..
Purging the rolls: Lessons in the meaning of membership
This week we asked our bloggers to consider “membership” – How is our understanding of membership changing? Is membership important? What are..
The restorative act of creativity whilst sermonizing
Sermonize /ser-muh-niz/ (verb) 1. To compose or deliver a sermon. 2. To deliver an opinionated and dogmatic talk to someone. (Merriam Webster..
It’s a sin to bore a kid
I was at a presbytery meeting recently, and, because all of our options for childcare fell through, I brought my 10-year-old son..
3 things I wish my congregation knew
We asked our bloggers what 3 things they thoughts pastors wish their congregations knew. This is how they responded. You will never..
Lessons the General Assembly can learn from an architect
In his interesting little book, “101 Things I Learned In Architecture School,” Matthew Frederick shares creative wisdom from the point of view..
“Deep & Wide” – A church transformation
To correspond with our Spring Books issue, we asked our bloggers to share books that have influenced their ministry. The first time..
Reflections on a pastoral epiphany
Yesterday I went on a pastoral visit to two of my longest tenured church members, a couple who joined the church in..
Vision is as vision does
Shortly after the last presidential election in 2012, I asked some friends if they could remember the campaign slogans for the two..
The not-so-prime of life
I turned forty-five last week. It doesn’t seem possible to me that I am as old as all that, to be honest. ..
Sleeping through sermons
The suicidal church: Reflections
In a recent blog post, Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, used the Presbyterian Church (USA) as an example..
Dreams or Death
There is a rather large poster that sits in my office directly across from my desk. It reads: “Once An Organization Has..
Reaching Millennials by way of the cross
I recently read Rachel Held Evan's CNN blog post on "Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church." Her basic assessment is that the..