I am spending each evening this week preaching the annual revival services at Bethel United Methodist Church in Midland, North Carolina. Bethel’s pastor, Mark Clontz, is a long-time friend of mine and we actually pastored the same two churches: he served Mt. Carmel & Midway in Monroe, NC from 1984-88 while I pastored those same Read the full article…
I finished my sermon yesterday by telling about a note I received in my box on a recent Sunday morning. Here’s a picture of the original: You get a note like that — from an eight-year-old who wants to be baptized, gives his phone number, and says he is “looking forward to talking with you” Read the full article…
A Jewish rabbi one time put it this way: In the church, you all believe that a family comes to church and finds faith there. Then you bring that faith from the church back to home. In Judaism, we do it differently. We believe that faith starts in the home and then when Read the full article…
Last Sunday’s sermon (“After The Storm”) included this litany from the book Grandparenting By Grace, authored by Irene Endicott and C. Ferris Jordan: We are teachers of God’s plan of salvation to our children and grandchildren. We are witnesses of how God has proven faithful to his people and to our family. We are Read the full article…
During my time in pastoral ministry, I have become relatively comfortable and effective at dealing with people who are in crisis mode. Not perfect by any stretch. But by and large I have been able to be a “non-anxious” presence in people’s lives when they are faced with issues around grief, marriage, addiction, trauma, and Read the full article…
