Something very small happened in between yesterday morning's worship gatherings.But it had a large impact.During the sermon itself, I used a demonstration involving Gatorade (the energy drink!) to show how it is that many moms and dads pour into parenting what they...

In terms of Master Bedroom luxury, there's good:There's better:And then there's best:But what does all this talk of Master Bedrooms have to do with children, households, and passing on the faith?To get that answer, Sunday.8:30.  10.  11:30. 

Some folks have been thoughtful enough to review The Storm Before The Calm over the last few days.Here's one from Amazon.And then Claude Kayler, the founding pastor of Good Shepherd and fellow Methodist blogger, offered his thoughts in a two-part review.You can...

Since my post yesterday was all about hymns, I thought I'd continue the trend today.Only today I want to focus in on a new hymn that is suddenly sitting in a seat of controversy:  In Christ Alone.  Now: "In Christ Alone" is really a glorious piece of music...

I am spending each evening this week preaching the annual revival services at Bethel United Methodist Church in Midland, North Carolina.Bethel's pastor, Mark Clontz, is a long-time friend of mine and we actually pastored the same two churches:  he served Mt....

I finished my sermon yesterday by telling about a note I received in my box on a recent Sunday morning.  Here's a picture of the original:You get a note like that -- from an eight-year-old who wants to be baptized, gives his phone number, and says he is "looking...

A Jewish rabbi one time put it this way: In the church, you all believe that a family comes to church and finds faith there.  Then you bring that faith from the church back to home. In Judaism, we do it differently.  We believe that faith starts in...

Last Sunday's sermon ("After The Storm") included this litany from the book Grandparenting By Grace, authored by Irene Endicott and C. Ferris Jordan: We are teachers of God’s plan of salvation to our children and grandchildren. We are witnesses of how God...

During my time in pastoral ministry, I have become relatively comfortable and effective at dealing with people who are in crisis mode.Not perfect by any stretch.  But by and large I have been able to be a "non-anxious" presence in people's lives when they are...

Back in 2009, I wrote a post called Why I Hate My Cats.  And Why I Love Them.  You can read about it here.But now, I neither hate them nor love them.  I just miss them.Over the last couple of months, one of them wandered away to die in the woods. She...