A Crumbling of Faith: Tuesday

Luke 21:5-6 As his disciples look in awe at the very impressive Temple structure, Jesus tells them that one day soon, the entire building would be torn down. Not one stone would be left standing on another. This came true in AD 70, when the Romans razed Jerusalem to the ground following a revolt. […]

A Crumbling of Faith: Monday

Luke 19:45-48 Jesus was a disturbance in the normalcy of holy living. One day he came into the city, stirring up the exuberant crowds and drawing attention. The next day, he entered the Temple and ran out the money changers, those who made a living selling what people needed in order to worship at […]

Holy Bread, Wonder Bread: part two

(This is part two of a three part series. Part One can be found here. Part Three can be found here.) John 6:51-58 Starting around the turn of the twentieth century, there was an epidemic of a disease called pellagra. Mostly forgotten now, it was an epidemic that lasted roughly 40 years. The […]

When Church Is Canceled

Today at lunch, my wife asked me a question across the table: “What are you going to do this week?” “I have no idea,” I said. “I need to think about it.” I literally lost sleep over the decision, but last Friday I sent out a message to my congregation: all church events […]

A Theology of Whole Hog Barbecue

I’m pretty sure I learned more about church at a barbecue pit than I did at seminary. When I was 12 years old my father, also a United Methodist minister, was appointed to Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Raleigh, NC. It was probably the best thing that happened to my family when I was […]

Teach the Children Well

“Dad, it’s really quiet out here. I love it when it’s quiet. I don’t like noisy places.” My five-year-old daughter is just like me. She doesn’t like noise. She doesn’t like crowds. She doesn’t like to hustle and bustle. She likes to get away, to a quiet place, a place where she can think, […]

Saving Souls or Saving Bees?

I have often said that you cannot write a job description for a pastor. In the seven years now that I have been in pastoral ministry, I have been with families as their loved ones passed from this world into the next, I have played games and made crafts with kids, I have stirred stew […]

How to Talk About the Environment in Your Church

I hate being called an environmentalist. I avoid using the word “environment.” The phrase “climate change” is not in my lexicon. At least at church, that is. Why? Because I have found that these and others like them elicit a knee jerk response from a good number of people in my church. When I’m labeled […]

God Created a Job

My wife realized early on in our relationship, with a degree of horror, that I am ignorant about art. When we have gone to the local art museum, she has raved about the techniques and the periods and the passion of artists, while I have looked on these same works and thought, “That sure is […]

Christians Should Care About Creation

I was a quiet and well-behaved kid, for the most part. I kept to myself, read a lot of books, and always tried to follow the rules. It was out of character for me, then, and quite audacious, when I told my second-grade teacher, “You’re wrong about that.” It was in a science lesson […]