Uncategorized (Page 5)
Making Plans
I’m not a planner. I’m a firm advocate that the best way to make God laugh is to tell God your plans.
A Nation of Privilege
I am a straight white cisgendered middle-class male. The reason it’s important to name these things about myself is because these categories afford me a certain amount of privilege.
General Conference Wrap-Up
On May 22nd we took time to “decompress” or “wrap-up” the events of The United Methodist Church’s quadrennial (every four years) General Conference that took place in Portland, OR. The General Conference is the highest legislative gathering in The United Methodist Church with voting membership consisting of an equal number of clergy and lay delegates elected by the Annual Conferences. General Conference is the only body that can speak officially for The United Methodist Church. As one who has a…
Legacy
Some of you may have heard the news that my younger sister Lyz and her husband Braden recently had a baby! Little Ava was born on April 9th into a family filled with love and hope and joy. Beth and I are looking forward to meeting Ava when they come to Southern California this June! This has brought back so many memories for me! I remember when both of our boys were born, both under circumstances that were both similar…
Lifted Up
In a recent conversation with a clergy colleague, we were laughing a bit at how random the daily life and work of any clergy person can be. We began as this colleague spoke of having to address a minor plumbing issue in the church that he serves, and we continued with a long list of other jobs (i.e. copy machine operator, counter wiper, publications and social media guru, musician, bulletin/newsletter/projection editor, door un-locker, photo & historical item sorter, graphic designer,…
Resurrection
Dear friends… It is my hope that each of you are experiencing the season of Lent in profound ways. We continue this month in the exploration of the Gospel of Mark’s telling of the last week Jesus spent in Jerusalem. We’ve considered the contrast between Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem on a donkey and Pilate’s show of force as each came into the city for the Passover festival. We’ve explored the reasoning behind Jesus’ anger in the Temple the following day…
Spectacle
As we enter the month of February, we are not only entering into the season of the world’s largest and most expensive spectacle (i.e. the Super Bowl), but also into a season of inner reflection and discernment. Note: In preparing this article/Pastor’s page, I asked my phone what specific date the Super Bowl would be played wanting to be sure it was actually in February. Not only did she affirm the February date, but she reminded me that it has…
Call & Learning
I believe we are all called to some form of Ministry, and a few are called to Ordained Ministry. This post includes a brief outline of the process for Ordination as well as an invitation to continued learning.
A Journey
Dear friends… I hope and pray that we have all enjoyed a fulfilling Thanksgiving filled with good company, good food, and perhaps a bit of our favorite sport (whether that can be found on a television or a couch or a beach). It is an important thing to gather and give thanks for the richness of our lives, both in terms of material items and in terms of relationships. I have shared with some of you that I enjoyed a…
Distractions
Dear Friends… Sometimes I get distracted. Do you ever get distracted? I hope so. I really don’t think I’m the only one. A common illustration for many of us comes from the movie Up (Disney/Pixar) where a dog named Dug – who can talk, thanks to a device strapped around his neck – constantly interrupts himself because he gets distracted (generally by a SQUIRREL!!). The truth about those of us who find ourselves occasionally distracted is that there are times…