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4/9/2010
161. Reflections on Easter Services
Palm Sunday I enjoyed the privilege of preaching to a full house at Shiloh UMC. It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny, and the warm receptivity and great singing deepened my anticipation of Holy Week and Easter.
Since I began serving as Bishop, our family has adopted the tradition of selecting a
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3/1/2010
158. Sunday Mornings
I recently offered condolences to a friend following her father’s death. Her father had served as a pastor for many years. With gratitude to God she said, “My father loved Sunday mornings. He was born on a Sunday and he died on a Sunday, and that just seems appropriate. He loved getting
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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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4/27/2009
126. Silence Speaks
In my blog a couple weeks ago, I told the story about a deaf ministry in a congregation. This visit reminded me of another experience several years ago when I was studying Spanish in Costa Rica. One Friday afternoon I took a taxi to downtown San Jose. I visited a museum, walked through an
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6/26/2008
68. Focus on the Five
This week I’ve finished reviewing the final proofs of all the new resources supporting the Five Practices that will be available through Cokesbury on August 1. This has been prepared in response to the overwhelming requests that Cokesbury (and I) have received for more helpful resources
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3/10/2008
47. The Pleasure of Preaching
Some weeks ago, I was attending a worship service that was alive and engaging, wonderfully honest and authentic. The whole congregation seemed connected and focused, even the children. Everyone seemed to lean into the service with great anticipation, and you could tell that people were attentive as
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3/3/2008
46. The Soul's Sincere Desire...
I’ve enjoyed the privilege of preaching nine times over the last three weeks in wonderfully diverse congregational settings - churches large and small, suburban, urban, and rural. Each of these congregations offers worship that is alive, engaging, challenging and passionate. The services
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2/29/2008
45. It's Worth It!
As I’m typing this, I’m sitting in a university concert hall. My teenage son is rehearsing Carmina Burana with a several-hundred member choir. Since I will miss the actual performance because I’ll be out of town, I’ve been attending the rehearsals with him. The music is powerful, the sing
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