Blog
- December 6, 2017
A UNIQUE CHRISTMAS GIFT In a world filled with loneliness, you can expand friendship, In a fractured world, you can…
, - December 1, 2017
YOUR PERSONAL ADVENT OK, its happening again. The season of Advent seems to come around each year. The colors of…
- November 29, 2017
IF WE ARE NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE If “the Son of Man came not to be served…
- November 24, 2017
IT'S ALL ABOUT ME Narcissism is a term that is increasingly used to describe one’s excessive focus on one’s self.…
, - November 22, 2017
I ADMIRE YOUR MINISTRY It is not unusual for a pastor to feel as if they are underappreciated. People may…
- November 17, 2017
IMPERFECT PASTORS & CHURCHES How does a congregation relate their faith to their relationship with their pastor? Too often,…
- November 15, 2017
HAVE WE LOST OUR NERVE I remember reading a book in college that suggested that the Greek civilization came up…
- November 10, 2017
A LUNCHEON INVITATION If your bishop, presbyter, or judicatory staff person called you up and asked you to go to…
, - November 8, 2017
WHAT'S THE USE Kathleen Norris writes about Acedia and Me. Acedia feeds upon the thought that nothing is worthwhile.…
, - November 3, 2017
God’s truth and Human Response Where would you place yourself between the assertion that there is no salvation outside…
- November 1, 2017
NO SALVATION OUTSIDE THE CHURCH Beginning with Augustine but continuing with Luther, Calvin, The Scots Confession, and the Second Helvietic…
, - October 27, 2017
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT EXPANDED We need to reinterpret the fifth commandment. “Honor your father and your mother, so that your…
, - October 25, 2017
WORDS CREATE WORLDS In Walter Brueggemann’s Israel’s Praise, he develops the idea that words create worlds. It is not the objective…
, - October 20, 2017
WHEN THINGS FALL APART One recent broadcast suggested there had been more than 250 cases of mass violence in 2017.…
, , - October 18, 2017
I want to emphasize 3 of the 10 commandments as an antitoxin to anxiety. NO OTHER GODS It is the…
- October 13, 2017
(CONTINUING TO LOOK AT VULNERABILITY AND ANXIETY FROM TED TALK BY BRENE’ BROWN as applied to the pastorate.) HIDING…
A RACIST CHURCH AND A REDEMPTIVE GOD (part 3)
July 8, 2020
AN INVITATION TO TRUST A REDEMPTIVE GOD Using the cross and the resurrection as our template for how God works…
BE AN INDEPENDENT THANKSGIVER
July 4, 2020
RECEIVE A GIFT AND GIVE A GIFT TODAY AND THE NEXT TWO DAYS, YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AFFIRM FRIENDS AND…
A RACIST CHURCH AND A REDEMPTIVE GOD (part 2)
July 3, 2020
RECOGNIZE THE CHURCH’S SCANDAL For Christians to respond to the reality of racism in our lives and in our congregations,…
A RACIST CHURCH AND A REDEMPTIVE GOD (part 1)
July 1, 2020
GOD IS NOT DEFEATED BY RACISM What we discover with the cross is that God is not only not defeated…
A Parable of Racism and privilege
June 26, 2020
AN EXCERPT FROM THE PLAY “BREAD OF MANY COLORS.” The scene takes place at an officers’ retreat of a consciously…
HOW TO DISCUSS RACISM IN MIXED COMPANY
June 24, 2020
WHERE TO BEGIN Ok, so you’ve taken a significant step in establishing a connection with another congregation that is of…
FAITH—SHAME—RACISM
June 23, 2020
Repeated because some had a problem accessing it RACISM FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE Unless you are hiding in a cave,…
FAITH, SHAME, & RACISM
June 19, 2020
FAITH—SHAME—RACISM Unless you are hiding in a cave, you have watched and listened to this country respond to the issue…
MARRIED TO THE BODY OF CHRIST–part two
June 17, 2020
The parable continues Abigail enthralled his adult class with her description of her call to be a nun. He assumed…
MARRIED TO THE BODY OF CHRIST
June 12, 2020
PART ONE MARRIED TO THE BODY OF CHRIST Stephen McCutchan Part one David Benedict, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran church,…