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1/19/2010
155. If One Member Suffers….
Update: For more information on how you can help the relief efforts in Haiti, visit umc.org/haiti and www.umcorhaiti.org.
On Tuesday evening, I was giving a presentation to a gathering of clergy from the Missouri Conference when a pastor reported a major earthquake in Haiti and asked for our prayer
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12/23/2009
152. The One Who Made Us Came To Us
Incarnation sounds like such a difficult word--ecclesiastical and weighty, academic and esoteric. The word seems far removed from the festivities of Christmas, either in their more secular and commercial expressions or in the carols and pageants of the season. Incarnation derives from the Latin, mea
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11/23/2009
148. Thanks and Praise
Two words we sometimes use interchangeably are thanks and praise. And yet there are shades of difference between them.
We express thanks when we receive something from someone—a gift, a gesture, an expression of help or support. We are beneficiaries and recipients, and thanks is an outward ex
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11/4/2009
145. I Didn’t Recognize It at the Time
As a birder, I keep “a life list,” a chronological listing of all the species I’ve seen and identified since I first began birding with intentionality. Since starting the list in 2004, I have seen 457 different species of North American birds.
The first 100 birds I added to the li
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7/27/2009
136. Impulses to Wordless Prayer
I’m usually more of a night owl than an early riser. This summer, however, I’ve found myself awakening early on many mornings. I step onto the back deck to fill the birdfeeders while soft streams of light emerge against the shadows. I enjoy the fresh smells, the glancing sheen of nascent
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1/26/2009
110. Missouri’s Largest Congregation
Yesterday I preached to the largest congregating of United Methodists in Missouri, a gathering of more than 2,100 persons at a single worship service. Any idea where I was? Manchester UMC? La Croix? St. James? Lee’s Summit?
Actually, I participated in the culminat
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12/22/2008
102. Following our Hopes While Wrestling with our Fears
I recently heard a brief devotion focused on Luke 1: 26-38, the scene where the angels foretell the birth of Jesus to Mary. The pastor humorously reminded us that in scripture, whenever you hear the words, “Be not afraid,” then watch out! Something huge is about to happen.
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12/17/2008
101. Christmas Gifts and Christmas Offerings
As the ushers moved forward with their plates in hand during a crowded Christmas Eve service, the pastor said, “We’ll now receive the offering, which will support the apportionments our church owes.” There was no further explanation, no description of ministries, no connectio
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12/15/2008
100. Praying at Christmas
Last week during a bishops’ learning event on a college campus I took an evening walk and slipped into the chapel. I felt wonderfully fortunate to discover an excellent a cappella choir rehearsing and so I settled into a pew at the back. Immersed in the music, I felt myself opening to a
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10/13/2008
92. Don't Let Worry Win
When serving as a pastor, I learned that I usually make my biggest mistakes when I’m tired. When I don’t attend to patterns of rest, sleep, exercise, and time away, and just keep grinding away at work day after day, I become more likely to say things I wish I could take back, make
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7/21/2008
75. Returning Home
As you may have heard, I’ve been reassigned to serve as the Bishop of the Missouri Conference for the next four years by the Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee that met at the Jurisdictional Conference last week in Dallas. This fulfills the hope and request that I made to the Committee
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6/30/2008
70. Passion for Ministry
At our annual conference this year, six pastors took turns describing their context for ministry, the challenges they face, and one or two innovative responses in their efforts to renew and strengthen their ministries. The creative responses ranged from starting a hip-hop service, developing a permi
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4/28/2008
61. Missouri Conference People
General Conference Notebook, April 28
I've felt great satisfaction (dare I say pride?) in seeing so many Missouri Conference people present at General Conference helping to shape the future of United Methodism. There are the delegates and reserves offering their service and leadership in remar
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1/30/2008
36. The Fruit of Someone's Ministry
The College of Bishops met in Dallas the last couple days, and one evening after dark I found myself walking by the Perkins School of Theology Chapel. I felt pulled inside, and soon found myself sitting alone on one of the pews facing the chancel, focused on the cross so beautifully lit in a manor t
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11/12/2007
14. Expressing Appreciation Again and Again
I recall a book called “Hardwiring Excellence” by the administrator of a hospital. The book chronicled the change of culture in a medical facility as it began to serve the patients, their families, the community, the poor, and their own staff more effectively by building systemic practices tha
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