One Future for Denominations In reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat I was struck with its implications for denominationalism.…

An Imaginary Conversation in a Cynical Society Another seismic change has occurred in the way we experience the church. At…

FEBRUARY 15 DEADLINE On Monday, February 15, the final phase of our three phase contest, AN EXPERIMENT IN MODERN PARABLES,…

I CELEBRATE GOD’S GIFT On February 4 I celebrated my seventy-fifth year of life. In September I will have been ordained…

Pastors Need Their Own Lenten Experience Ash Wednesday comes very early this year. February 10 seems to be arriving before…

POST SABBATICAL It is not unusual for a pastor and a pastor’s family to experience what I can best describe…

  WELCOMING PASTOR BACK FROM SABBATICAL I thought you might like to see a sample of a litany that a…

An Experiment in Sabbath Time Recently, while discussing some sabbatical plans for a pastor, I began imagining with him a…

  PRESBYTERY WITNESS Since we live in a secular society that has lost its appreciation for the Sabbath, and churches…

  LET THE PLANNING BEGIN First Find information on how to apply for a grant to help pay for your…

INTERPRETING TO THE CONGREGATION Let me begin by providing you some resources to use in interpreting the need for sabbaticals…

NINE TIPS FOR YOUR EXPERIMENT IN MODERN PARABLES.   Let me suggest some easy steps to releasing the short story…

 (TWELVE WAYS YOU CAN BE A WINNER!!!!) WHAT IF you actually wrote a short story and submitted it to the…

THIS WEEK WILL DRAIN YOU OF ENERGY AND HOPEFULLY FILL YOU WITH SATISFACTION. DRINK IN THE POSITIVE SET ALL NEGATIVE…

PRACTICE THINKING LIKE JESUS Jesus wrote parables that confronted major issues in the society. You can too. The third phase…

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM  Let me suggest an evening conversation for a pastoral couple that can be both fun…

DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING In the past two blogs, I’ve offered a creative way to engage complaints both among clergy and with…

LEARNING TO PLAY What if you could engage the members of your congregation in thinking creatively about the complaints that…

NAMING THE COMPLAINTS Have you heard a lot of complaints, lately? Whether you are a part of a presbytery staff…

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS Do you believe God is real, personal, and involved in this universe? Do you believe that the…