This is the season of the year when many United Methodist pastors begin new assignments. I’ve only been through that kind of season twice — once in 1990 when I graduated from seminary and began serving Mt. Carmel & Midway Churches in Monroe and again in 1999 when...
I spent three days last week in Indianapolis for the 2017 meeting of the Indiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The Indiana chapter of the Confessing Movement invited me to give a couple of talks and then the good folks at Cokesbury arranged two...
As Chiseled moved into its second week, the message featured ... A bit of personal trivia involving the words "theocentric" and "anthrocentric"; The results of a Facebook survey asking the question 'how has God made your life better?' (if he has at all); A corporate...
Well, The Who may well have talked about their generation ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN5zw04WxCc ... but we'll talk about yours. And those you're responsible for. And the reasons God actually makes your life better (even if he has to make it harder to...
While looking at an old picture album, I came across this article from the July 24, 1994 edition of the Monroe (NC) Enquirer-Journal. So much to look on with some nostalgia from this piece . . . The Mt. Carmel sanctuary. We used an overhead projector to...
For several years, I've been encouraging a preacher friend of mine to see the light, read Communicating For A Change, use the ME-WE-GOD-YOU-WE outline it describes, and preach a one-point sermon. But my friend is notoriously hard-headed and for years he resisted....
I've been doing this for more than a quarter-century now. I started in 1990. I've served only two appointments in that time (1990-1999 at Mt. Carmel-Midway in Monroe and 1999-present here at Good Shepherd), but I've seen more than a couple of changes in ministry. In...
Chiseled launched yesterday with a message that I felt good about because it .... Linked the start of Ephesians 2:1=10 (and you were dead) with its conclusion (you are his workmanship) by connecting impulse and impact; Led to a video conclusion involving a regular guy...
In 2017, we have had ... Creatures Of Habit The Path Of Most Resistance Finished Business Love Handles. I have felt good about each one, and your feedback throughout the year has only increased in appreciation. So just wait until we devote an entire series to calling...
A mish mash. A hodgepodge. A random sampling of thoughts, insights, and realizations; rarely connected but hopefully helpful: My life significantly improved when I changed to daily wear contact lenses. Yes, they are more expensive, but on the other hand I may never...