Browse Blog Post
8/31/2010
173. Come and See
What’s the primary portal by which people enter into the life of a congregation, and thereby take their first steps toward life in Christ?
I heard a consultant describe how the answer to this question has changed over the years. From the 1910’s to 1950’s, Sunday School was
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7/26/2010
171. Changing Lives or Changing Affiliations?
Recently I heard Gil Rendle say, “I was not trained to change people’s lives, but to change their membership affiliations.” With these words, Gil, who serves as a church leadership consultant with Texas Methodist Foundation, captures how our understanding of the purpose of the chur
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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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2/9/2009
113. The Eyes Say It All
I heard my friend and colleague, Sally Dyck, preach an excellent sermon on Radical Hospitality which she began with the line, “It’s in the eyes. The eyes say it all.” She went on to tell about the way we look at people, and the messages we send by how we look at them. B
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10/6/2008
91. The Battle is Won or Lost in Your Lobby
Last week as I was on the road with my work, I stopped by a specialty pizza parlor. I was by myself and had my journal in hand, ready to pen some notes about the day while I waited for a personal-sized pizza. This is actually a little out of character for me; I usually grab something extremely
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6/27/2008
69. Stay Back!
Recently I heard the sirens of an emergency vehicle approaching from behind me, and so I slowed down and moved to the side of the road. A large fire engine passed me with lights flashing. As it drove by me, I noticed a number of decals highly visible around the various compartments, door
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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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6/19/2008
67. Vacation Bible School
A couple weeks ago, I preached at a congregation that was preparing for the launch of Vacation Bible School. They had decorated the entire front of the worship center with special posters, furnishings, and props to establish the theme of the week, and the musicians and youth leaders invited al
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4/11/2008
52. A Simple Invitation
Last evening I stopped by a small business and was assisted by a young man who had to take some information from me - name, address, employment, etc. When I said I worked for the United Methodist Church, he smiled and said, "Really? I'm United Methodist, too. I grew up in the Metho
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3/20/2008
48. After Easter
As I’m writing this, I’m preparing for the end of Holy Week and for Easter Sunday. For more than twenty-five years as I served as pastor, this was one of the busiest, most intense, most rewarding, most emotional, most exhausting, most spiritually challenging, moving, and exhilarating weeks of
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2/11/2008
39. Ordinary Churches, Extraordinary Responses
Most of you have read about the tragic events that took place in the St. Louis community of Kirkwood, Missouri. A gunman shot two police officers, several city council members and city staff, and the mayor. Before the bloodshed ended, six persons were dead, and several others seriously wou
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1/25/2008
35. What's Your System for Reaching People?
Recently a clergy friend loaned me a CD of a talk by Andy Stanley about ministry systems. I haven’t read much of Stanley’s work, but I appreciated some of the stories he told. For instance, he described “the system” in his family for getting the garbage taken out. Each Wednes
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1/14/2008
30. That's My Seat!
A few weeks ago I arrived early for a worship service and took my seat in the near-empty sanctuary to reflect, pray, and prepare for the service. No one sat within five or six pews of me as I quietly listened to the musicians rehearse, but I do not feel alone or unwelcome. Then an older wo
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12/14/2007
24. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!
There was a practice I first developed while serving as a pastor that I continue now as a Bishop. Before each sermon, I offer a brief word of welcome to everyone. When I served as a senior pastor at a large congregation, I often did not have a speaking role in the worship service until I stood
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12/11/2007
23. Make it Personal at Christmas
Every December, the average attendance rises in our churches. There’s something about the season, the special music, and the cultural vestiges of the meaning of Christ’s birth that causes more people to attend than in November or October. And Christmas Eve usually brings a crowd, (even in a sma
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12/4/2007
20. The Only Sunday that Counts
A few months ago I heard about a woman who was going through a rough time in her personal and professional life, and in her search for connections, hope, and direction, she began to visit a few churches. After her first two worship experiences for which she came alone, sat alone, and left
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11/30/2007
19. Changing Our Attitudes about Christmas and Easter People
Every pastor and active lay leader knows about the “C & E” people. These are the inactive members, nominally engaged constituents, sometimes-but-infrequent visitors who suddenly fill our pews to overflowing on Christmas Eve and Easter morning. They are the people brought by their spouses, c
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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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